Street art in Catania

  • 6:00 h
  • 15 KM
  • Intermediate

To discover street art in Catania, the best thing to do would be to get lost in long walks and take eyes wide open and a smartphone to capture the beauty that many artists of national and international fame have wanted to leave as a tribute to our city. One of the most “hot” places is the San Berillo District: a former red light district and now a redeveloped space that, every day, is enriched with art and new street inspirations that are osmoticised with places rich in memory, races, social issues, thanks to the private initiative of those who, like Trame di Quartiere, offers urban regeneration starting from art, culture, creativity. Or who, like the Catanese collective Res Publica Temporanea, has launched the Red Line Distreet project.

First came the representation of Mama Africa of Luprete and the portrait of San Berillo (also of the street artist Luprete together with the collective FX) and then, slowly, the street art – as wonderfully told by the volume “Street Art in Sicily” (a guide not to be missed to get to know the street art of Catania, written by Mauro Filippi, Marco Mondino and Luisa Tuttolomondo and edited by Dario Flaccovio Editore) has populated alleys, walled doors, walls of the neighborhood. A new monumental mural that dialogues directly with the district of San Berillo is the one created by the street artist Capo.bianco who tells the city in his own way.
A good starting point, then, is the neighborhood, before moving to the former ex deposito AMT  – where it is slowly developing an open-air museum of street art – before continuing towards the center and Squibb, a beloved area especially from the catanese hip hop scene.

A brief visit in the heart of the Civita district and its Teatro Coppola (with an admiring look at the door painted by Julieta XLF). Once arrived at the Archi della Marina, then, the obligatory stop will be the silos of Catania.

And – despite a journey through the street art Catania would provide at least another ten additional stages around the city – certainly, it is worthwhile to extend the path at least up to the popular district of Librino, where the promoters of the propagation of street art they were multiple. Just think of the association “I Briganti di librino” and Res Publica Temporanea with the Librino Sky Line Distreet project as works of reconnection between district, art and city and the well-known “Porta della Bellezza”, project of the Fiumara D’Arte Foundation of Antonio Presti.

 

Tour pdf guide

Bring with you our pdf guide with all the curiosities and information about all street art places in Catania.

Download the guide

1
Urban work in the ex bus parking

Ex Rimessa AMT

Culture, Tipical places

A new “AMT ART PROJECT” project, thanks to which spaces can be filled, through initiatives to create new places of art and urban aggregation.

Discover contemporary urban art in spaces where you would never have believed you could see it

2
Porta Garibaldi

Porta Garibaldi (Garibaldi’s gateway)

Culture, Monuments

At the end of Via Garibaldi there’s a triumphal arch, it was erected in 1768, mistakenly called “Gateway of Garibaldi” or “King Ferdinand’s one” (because it was built to celebrate the wedding between Prince Ferdinand IV and Maria Carolina of Austria) but it’s better known to people of Catania as “porta ‘o Furtinu”.

3
The gate of beauty

Porta della Bellezza (The Gate of Beauty)

Culture, Monuments

The Gate of Beauty in Librino district is a monumental sculpture in terracotta, the largest terracotta work in the world. Sign of welcoming and hospitality, the project belongs to Antonio Presti and includes the artworks of several Italians sculptors sharing the subject “The Great Mother”.

4
Magma strenght

Occhio di Blu

Culture, Galleries and art sites

Un’Etna in eruzione, di circa 30 metri, s’impone su uno dei quartieri più difficili della città: Librino.

5
Silos, Catania

Street Art Silos

Culture, Galleries and art sites

The city port has undergone a transformation and become an open air art installation. Eight silos became a spectacular 21st century monument; not mere graphic representations but a contemporary story that is inspired by Sicilian traditions.

To be visited for admiring street art a few steps from baroque monuments.

6
Il muro della Dogana di Catania

Port of Catania

Culture, Tipical places

Located in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, the Port of Catania was first built in 1438. Repeatedly rebuilt over the centuries, today it is one of the most important ports in Sicily. With a total surface area of 615,000 m2, the Port is home to a variety of different activities

7
"ReWallution"

Largo XVII Agosto

Culture, Tipical places

During an open air show lasting 5 days, 5 internationally renowned street artists – Microbo, Bo130, 2501, San, Guè – carried out site specific works on the facades of the houses of Largo XVII Agosto, making a real “ReWallution”.

8
The work by PAO at metro station in piazza Giovanni XXIII

Metro station in piazza Giovanni XXIII

Culture, Galleries and art sites

After descending the last step of the FCE metro station in Piazza Giovanni XXIII in Catania, we find PAO’s tsunami on the floor. Work made with eco-friendly paints and resins.

9
San Berillo, Catania

San Berillo

Culture, Tipical places

In order to know the history of Catania you need to take a look at one of its historic neighbourhoodsIn the centre of Catania, San Berillo shows its visitors many faces and facets with its Baroque and Fascist buildings, some unfinished and some destroyed by bombardments or other events, and with its simple houses.

10
Families in via San Michele

Via San Michele

Culture, Tipical places

Behind Via Etnea, there is a small, vital and rich oasis of creativity. In via San Michele, there are the more whimsical crafts meeting the public. You will find painters, artists, ateliers of graphic arts and photography where you can taste refined dishes and excellent wines.

Are you an art lover? Via San Michele is what you're looking for.