Monastery of San Nicolò l’Arena

Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena tickets: which one to buy

The Benedictine monastery of San Nicolo l'Arena stands in the historic centre of Catania, in Sicily, and it is one of the largest monasteries in Europe. Today it houses the humanities departments of the University of Catania, and it can be visited on guided tours run by a cultural association based in the building; these tours take in the cloisters, the gardens, the kitchens, the Roman remains underneath and the library, and they are the only way to see much of the complex, so booking is recommended.

The adjoining church of San Nicolo, the largest in Sicily, is visited separately and its dome and roof terraces are sometimes open. Catania is the gateway to Mount Etna, and many visitors combine a morning in the city with an afternoon trip to the volcano. The monastery is a short walk from Via Crociferi and the cathedral. Tours start from a desk in the first cloister, where the association also sells guidebooks.

Visiting Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena: what to see

The monastery was founded in the sixteenth century, damaged by the lava flow of Etna in 1669, which surrounded it, and almost destroyed by the earthquake of 1693. It was rebuilt on a grand scale in the eighteenth century in a rich baroque style, with two huge cloisters, one of them decorated with a pavilion in coloured majolica tiles. The monks came from the aristocratic families of Sicily and lived in great luxury, a world described by the novelist Federico De Roberto. Beneath the buildings, excavations have revealed remains of a Roman house with mosaics, and the black lava rock of 1669 can be seen where it stopped at the walls.

The architect Giancarlo De Carlo restored and transformed the complex for the university from the 1980s, adding modern elements. The Biblioteche Riunite library, with painted and carved wooden shelves, is especially beautiful. The monastery kitchens, with their huge vaulted rooms and ovens, show the scale of daily life, and the gardens, laid out on the solidified lava of 1669, include exotic plants brought by the monks. The unfinished facade of the church, with giant columns left standing without a top storey, is one of the most striking sights in Catania.

Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena opening hours and the best time to go

Guided tours run several times a day and at weekends, with shorter hours in August and during university holidays; tours in English are available. Catania is hot in summer, and the shaded cloisters are pleasant. Spring and autumn are the best seasons. The festival of Saint Agatha, Catania's patron, in early February, is one of the largest religious festivals in the world, with enormous processions through the streets for three days.

University term time brings students to the monastery, giving it a lively atmosphere. Allow about an hour and a half for the guided tour, and walk down Via Crociferi, lined with baroque churches, afterwards. The fish market near the cathedral, La Pescheria, is busiest in the morning and closes by early afternoon.