Diocesan Museum of Catania

The Diocesan Museum of Catania primarily preserves the historic mobile furnishings of the Cathedral, thus configuring itself as a museum of the Cathedral and of the bishop’s seat itself. These furnishings and works can fully attest to the historical, cultural and religious events of the vast territory of the diocese.

The museum is divided into two sections: the first, dedicated to the liturgical furnishings of the Cathedral, winds through the rooms on the second floor and ends on the next floor in the chapel; the second, which houses the furnishings of other churches in the city and the diocese, takes place in the rooms on the third and fourth floors. The route finally ends in the panoramic terraces from which it is possible to admire the Baroque city from above.

You can also access the Roman Achillean Baths through the Museum by following the vaulted corridor built into the gap between the Roman baths and the foundations of the cathedral (left of the façade). This is the place where the subterranean Amenano river, the river whose waters rise in the nearby Amenano fountain still flows today.

The Achillian Baths are one of the most significant buildings of the Roman-Imperial age in Catania. The monument was excavated in the eighteenth century. The part of the building that can be visited today consists of a central rectangular room with four pillars on which the vaults are set. At the center of this room there is a basin originally covered in marble, as well as some slabs, in fragments, which must have constituted the floor of the room.

The visit to the Museum is completed with the unmissable panoramic view that can be admired from the terraces: an immersion in the peculiar landscape beauty offered by Etna and its surroundings, together with the splendid Baroque architecture of Catania. From a privileged view you can enjoy an enchanting scenery, especially on the occasion of the Agatine festivities, when the fires of fireworks paint the sky with a thousand colors. In this dimension, the appreciation of the works of art proposed by the exhibition together with the contemplation of the landscape make the visit to the Diocesan Museum of Catania unique and unforgettable. More