Catania

Catania is located on the east coast of the island of Sicilia,¹ in Italia,² immediately south of Mount Etna, an active volcano. Its metropolitan area officially extends to a province-sized area, and has a population of 1.116 million as of 2014.³ The city proper has 294 thousand residents.⁴ Perhaps the tallest building is the Joly Hotel Bellini (111 feet).⁵

UNESCO honors Catania proper and the metropolitan⁶ town of Caltagirone (population 39,000)⁷ that were rebuilt in late Baroque style after their destruction by a 1693 earthquake.

Mount Etna is also honored as a World Heritage Site, and its heights are formally part of the metropolitan area. Metropolitan towns by its slopes include Adrano (population 36,000),⁸ Biancavilla (population 23,000),⁹ and Belpasso (population 25,000).¹⁰

The area is served by one of the nation's busiest airports.¹¹

Cathedral, Catania, Sicilia, Italia

Footnotes

1. Sicily in English.
2. Italy in English.
3. Side bar of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_City_of_Catania, accessed November 21, 2017.
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Italy, accessed February 15, 2017.
5. It is the only conventional building listed in emporis.com, accessed November 21, 2017. The Monte Sante Sofia Radio Tower at 344 feet is much taller.
6. The site extends further south than the metropolitan area to include towns in Ragusa Province. UNESCO, World Heritage Sites (Firefly Books, 2010).
7. Side bar of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caltagirone, accessed February 16, 2017.
8. Side bar of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrano, accessed February 16, 2017.
9. Side bar of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biancavilla, accessed February 16, 2017.
10. Side bar of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belpasso, accessed February 16, 2017.
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_busiest_airports_in_Italy, accessed February 16, 2017. My criterion for inclusion: above 3 million total passengers.