Conference venue

The conference will take place in Palazzo delle Scienze. It is located in the centre of Catania (Corso Italia, 55), close to the court, and was completed in the 1940. Today, it is the venue of Department of Economics and business.

Local information

The University of Catania is the oldest university in Sicily, and the 13th oldest in Italy. Its establishment dates back to 1434. It is composed of twenty departments, and students attending its courses are about 60,000.

Catania is the second most populated city of Sicily and it sited at the foot of Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe born from a submarine eruption 500-600 thousand years ago, and it is on the Ionio sea. The rich history and culture of the town is due to different occupations of Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Svevians, Aragonites, Angiò and Spanish, bringing with them their uses and knowledge inherited from Catania. Monuments and churches present in the city are the result of these different cultures. The city centre has been inserted in the World Heritage list of UNESCO and many important monuments can be visited there like the Duomo of Catania, Piazza Stesicoro, Ursino Castle, Palazzo del Seminario, Porta Uzeda, Palazzo degli Elefanti, the Cathedral, piazza teatro Bellini , Benedettini monastery only to mention some of them. Some interesting sightseeing walks of the town can be visited at the following webpage.

Catania is well connected with many other interesting sites. Buses for Etna, the airport, Palermo and various nearby towns depart from the squares near the railway station (there are several different bus lines with offices in front of the main square). Fontanarossa Airport is only about 20 minutes from Catania. There are also fairly frequent train departures to Taormina, Siracusa, Messina and the mainland. From Catania you can reach other wonderful places to visit and enjoy: Acitrezza, Aci Castello, Taormina for their seaside; Enna, the highest Italian province (931 metres), Piazza Armerina very well known for its churches and mosaics, Modica for the baroque churches and its chocolate well-known over the world, Siracusa for its archeolagical sites and museums, Ragusa, Noto, Erice, and many other wonderful places.

If you would like to combine good views to good dishes, then Catania is perfect for your scope. At every corner of the town you can find places where you can taste delicious plates like Pasta Norma (from one of the finest works of the famous composer Vincenzo Bellini), "arancini" (very tasteful rice balls), "pasta con le sarde", caponata, crespelle, "cannoli di ricotta", cassata, dishes based on the original pistacchio of Bronte and many other dishes.