Benedictine Monastery of San Nicolò l'Arena
Monastero dei Benedettini di San Nicolò l'Arena
One of Europe’s largest Benedictine monasteries, featuring a baroque cloister and underground Roman ruins; today it is home to the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Catania and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Monastery of San Nicolò l’Arena was founded in 1558 and expanded after the 1669 lava flow and the 1693 earthquake. Its scale ranks among the foremost Benedictine monasteries in Europe, and it is part of the Val di Noto UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today it houses the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Catania. Guided tours by Officine Culturali (about €10, roughly 1 hour) take you through the marble cloister, the “Lava Garden,” where a lava flow ran up against the wall, excavated underground Roman houses, and a modern library space redesigned by architect Giancarlo De Carlo. Next door, the Church of San Nicolò is one of the largest churches in Sicily.
Opening hours
Tours about 09:00–17:00 (check website)
Nearby sights
- Roman Theatre of Catania
- Museo Civico Belliniano
- Via dei Crociferi
- Villa Bellini
- Castello Ursino
- Roman Amphitheatre of Catania
- Via Etnea
- La Pescheria, Catania