Il Principe Hotel Catania - Events and Culture

Italy is the first country in the world for the number of sites declared
by the UNESCO to be a World Patrimony site.
Five of them are in Sicily and another one is being proposed:
Etna Volcano, its park and the towns there.
The above mentioned sites are the following:


Aeolian Islands

Baroque cities of Val di Noto

Siracusa and the rocky Necropolis of Pantalica

Agrigento archeological zone

Roman Villa of Casale at Piazza Armerina

Let's go on a virtual tour of Central-East Sicily
to understand what it means to be acknowledged by
the whole world as a heritage land for all.

The Aeolian Islands (Lipari, Alicudi, Filicudi,Vulcano, Salina, Panarea, Stromboli). We can start from these famous islands situated on the north side of Eastern Sicily where the elements of nature - water, fire, air and land - form the space, creating a single, unique area.

The Baroque cities of Val di Noto (Catania, Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa Ibla, Scicli) are the next stop of our tour.

Let's stop at Catania, a mix of ancient city thanks to its historical centre and modern city, with its easy-going people mentality. The historical centre is unique in the world for its baroque style made of Etna rocks. One of the wonderful buildings located on the real baroque heart of Catania is the PRINCIPE HOTEL CATANIA. Let's move to Noto, acknowledged to be the "Capital of the Baroque". Here everything is modelled in soft local stone, skilfully worked into harmonious shapes to become a splendid "stone garden" in a unique, unreapetable style. The city was building like a stage set, with the perspectives being studied and corrected, playing with the lines of the facades, the window-frame decorations, curves and twists, and cast-iron balconies with their curved shapes. On the third Sunday of May, don't miss the infiorata, when a colorful carpet of flower petals, with different types every years, is laid on the street.

Siracusa with the island of Ortigia, the perfect example of a baroque city, built entirely on the sea and now undergoing an interesting initiative for urban recovery. Siracusa - Greek Theatre

The Orso archeological museum, the Papyrus museum, the cinema museum and the new acquarium are just some of its extraordinary attractions. Nearby, in the iblei mountains district, we have Palazzolo Acreide, one of the oldest archeological areas in Italy, with 3000 years of history of the Siculi, Greeks, Romans, Byzantynes, Arabs, Normans and Spanish. The Archeological Park hosts the Greek theatre and the remains of the temple of Aphrodite. To the south-east we find the Intagliata and Intagliatella caves, initially used as stone quarries to build the ancient Akrai, and then as a burial place. On the slope of the ancient city we can find the other caves known as "feral temples", places of veneration. At the foot of the hill there is a series of bas-reliefs and rock carvings called "Santoni", dedicated to the cult of Cybele, goddess of fertility. Set among the iblei mountains in an extraordinary natural site we find Pantalica which, with its 5000 tombs, is the largest Necropolis in the Mediterranean. According to some experts this is the site of the Siculean city of Hybla. With its position, bordered by two large canyons along which the Anapo and Calcinara rivers flow, the view from the necropoli is highly suggestive

Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples, moving towards the coast of Sicily dominating the Mediterranean Gulf.
Here, as nowhere else in the Mediterranean, Hera, Hercules, Zeus, Castor, Pollux, Vulcan, Asclepius and Concord received the maximum honours. We are in the valley most sacred to the gods that man has ever imagined and built. We recall our ancestors and celebrate this place in february with the International Festival of the Almond Blossom, a gathering of folklore groups from five continents that meet among the temples in the sign of friendship and peace.



Piazza Armerina, in the of the sunny Sicily, the city of mosaics and of the Norman Palio race held in August, to enjoy the Roman Villa del Casale.
With a monumental appearance, it covers an area of 4000 square metres and consists of a long series of rooms including a Frigidarium, a Tiepidarium with gimnasium and a small sanctuary. The whole place is decorated with mosaics (with exceptional artistic quality and new technique) showing naturalistic mythological scenes and the customs of the period.

Sicily, with its magnificent history, is once again attracting visitors who are attentive and curious, happy to participate in cultural events, drawn to its theatre, literature, landscape, monuments and cities, or even, quite simply, by the quality and mellow way of life.

It is a history that speaks through dozens of Archeological areas, hundreds of magnificent historic city-centre and villages, 76 nature reserves, 4 large national parks and 6 protected marine areas. And through its sea, its mountain, its colour, flavours and aromas.