Piazza Stesicoro is a rectangular city square in the historic center of the city of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The piazza is frequently host to markets. The circumvalent street is bisected by Via Etna and at the eastern end opens to the modern boulevard of corso Sicilia. The western half of the piazza displays ruins of the former Ancient Roman amphitheater of Catania. Facing the ruins is the neoclassical facade of the church of San Biagio, also known as ''Sant'Agata alla Fornace''. Also facing the piazza are the following buildings: Palazzo Tezzano; Palazzo Paternò del Toscano; and the Palazzo Beneventano della Corte. An 1842 guide to Sicily recalls the piazza hosting a monument to King

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II (; ; ; 12 January 1810 – 22 May 1859) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death in 1859. Family Ferdinand was born in Palermo to King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. ...

, with the monarch dressed in Ancient Roman garb.Guida per la Sicilia
by Giovanna Power (Jeanette Power); Published by Filippo Cirelli, Naples (1842); page 61. this monument had been removed by 1864 after the 1861 defeat by Garibaldi of the armies of the Bourbon monarchy of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and Sicily. The monument honoring Ferdinand's father King Francis I, which had been at Piazza dell'Universita was also removed during this period. The Ferdinand monument was replaced by the present Monument to Vincenzo Bellini, the composer of operas, with a base surrounded by characters from his operas.

References

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