# Timeline of Catania

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Catania in the Sicily region of Italy.

## Prior to 18th century

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* 729 BCE – Catina founded by Naxians.
* 476 BCE – Hiero I of Syracuse expels residents to Leontini; settlement renamed "Aetna".
* 461 BCE – Settlement named "Catina" again.
* 403 BCE – Catina taken by forces of Dionysius I of Syracuse.
* 263 BCE – Catina taken by Roman forces during the First Punic War.
* 122 BCE – Mount Etna eruption of 122 BCE [it].
* 2nd C. CE – Amphitheatre of Catania
* 251 CE – Lava stream threatens the town.
* 535 CE – Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire takes Sicily.
* 4th–5th C. CE – Roman Catholic diocese of Catania active.
* 902 CE – Catania "sacked by the Saracens" during the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
* 1090 – Catania Cathedral founded.
* 1169 – February: 1169 Sicily earthquake.
* 1194 – Catania sacked by forces of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor.
* 1232 – Political unrest.
* 1239 – Castello Ursino (castle) ordered to be constructed by Emperor Frederick II, King of Sicily.
* 1282 – War of the Sicilian Vespers.
* 1296 – "Parliament at Catania elected Frederick of Aragon king of Sicily."
* 1350 – Castello Ursino (castle) built.
* 1435 – "Social unrest."
* 1434 – University of Catania opens.
* 1647 – Political unrest.
* 1669 – 1669 Etna eruption causes destruction in region near city.
* 1687 – Chiesa di San Nicolò l'Arena [it] (church) construction begins.
* 1693 – January: 1693 Sicily earthquake causes much destruction in city.

## 18th–19th centuries

* 1709 – Palazzo Tezzano construction begins.
* 1713 – San Benedetto church built.
* 1737 – Fontana dell'Elefante [it] (fountain) installed in the Piazza del Duomo.
* 1755 – University Library established.
* 1817 – February: Earthquake.
* 1824 – Accademia Gioenia [it] (learned society) formed.
* 1843 – Catania provincial archives established.
* 1858 – Orto Botanico dell'Università di Catania (garden) established.
* 1862 – August: Catania "held by Garibaldi."
* 1866
** Cimitero monumentale di Catania [it] (cemetery) established.
** Catania Centrale railway station inaugurated.
* 1869 – Stazione di Catania Marittima [it] (train station) opens.
* 1871 – Population: 84,397.
* 1876 – Observatory established.
* 1881 – Population: 100,417.
* 1882 – Vincenzo Bellini monument [it] erected in the Piazza Stesicoro.
* 1883 – Giardino Bellini (park) opens.
* 1890 – Teatro Massimo Bellini (theatre) opens.

## 20th century

* 1905 – Catania tram [it] begins operating.
* 1908 – Calcio Catania football club formed.
* 1911 – Population: 210,703.
* 1915 – Catania-Acireale Tram [it] begins operating.
* 1929 – Calcio Catania (football club) founded.
* 1930 – Campo dei cent'anni [it] (stadium) opens.
* 1931 – Biblioteche riunite Civica e A. Ursino Recupero [it] (library) established.
* 1937 – Stadio Cibali (stadium) opens.
* 1943 – July: City bombed in the Allied invasion of Sicily during World War II.
* 1944 – 14 December: Palazzo degli Elefanti (city hall) burns down.
* 1945 – La Sicilia newspaper begins publication.
* 1949
** Società Catanese Trasporti [it] (transit entity) established.
** Catania trolleybus [it] begins operating.
* 1954 – Teatro Metropolitan (Catania) [it] opens.
* 1957 – Demolition of San Berillo [it] neighborhood.
* 1958 – Teatro Stabile di Catania founded.
* 1963 – State Archive of Catania active.
* 1969 – Teatro Verga (theatre) built.
* 1971
** City divided into 26 administrative units.
** Population: 400,048.
* 1978 – City reorganized into 17 administrative units.
* 1988 – Enzo Bianco becomes mayor.
* 1995 – City reorganized into 10 administrative units: Barriera-Canalicchio, Borgo-Sanzio, Centro-San Cristoforo-Angeli Custodi, Monte Po-Nesima, Ognina-Picanello-Stazione, San Giorgio-Librino, San Giovanni Galermo [it], San Giuseppe La Rena-Zia Lisa, San Leone-Rapisardi [it], and Trappeto-Cibali.
* 1997 – PalaCatania arena opens.
* 1998 – Mercati Generali nightclub in business near city.
* 1999 – Catania Metro begins operating.
* 2000 – Umberto Scapagnini becomes mayor.

## 21st century

* 2007 – Catania–Fontanarossa Airport new terminal opens.
* 2012 – 28 October: Sicilian regional election, 2012 held.
* 2013
** City reorganized into six administrative units: Borgo Sanzio, Centro San Giovanni Galermo-Trappeto-Cibali, Centro Storico, Monte Po-Nesima-San Leone-Rapisardi, Picanello-Ognina-Barriera-Canalicchio, and San Giorgio-Librino-San Giuseppe La Rena-Zia Lisa-Villaggio Sant'Agata.
** Population: 290,678 city; 1,077,113 province.