I came to Catania for a conference organised by the university in the former Benedictine monastery, one of the main sights of Catania. That was one of the main reasons I wanted to rent Andrea's flat for those days. It was very conveniently located for this purpose - only a few minutes away from the conference venue. The flat is also very close to Via Vittorio Emmanuele, which is a very quick way to get to the centre, e.g., the cathedral and the fish market.
I was welcomed by the very friendly parents of Andrea and shown into the flat; father Giacomo even took me for a drive to show me the immediate surroundings and the best way to get to my conference venue.
The flat is in very good condition - and has already been praised in previous reviews. When you enter the house for the first time: The flat is in a much better condition than the entrance area of the house and the staircase ... ;) In any case, the house is located in a very typical little Sicilian narrow street - and that has its own very special charm.
If you come as a couple or alone, as I did, the first large room keeps its main role as living room (with a sitting area, table and TV etc., and also a little flowered balcony), but the sitting area can be made up as a bed. The "main bed" is reached via a rather narrow wooden staircase in an open mezzanine. The bed has a nightstand on one side, on the other side it is directly against the wall. (I mention this because it was wonderful for me alone, but I don't actually like sleeping two in one bed if it's not possible to leave it comfortably on both sides ...)
Perhaps due to my age of almost 70 years, I must point out that despite all the enthusiasm for this flat, it is not entirely suitable for people with even a little limited mobility: first of all, the very narrow wooden staircase to the sleeping area for carrying a larger suitcase as well as for descending at night (to get to the toilet …) is a similar challenge as the even steeper staircase (almost a ladder) to reach the really particularly beautiful terrace.
Although the flat itself does not feel constricting in terms of space (perhaps apart from the very small bathroom & WC), there are not very many storage facilities for one's wardrobe etc. At first you see quite a lot of cupboards, but most of them are quite full of spare bed linen, towels, boxes etc. (but I just put my shirts etc. on top of these other things in the drawers ...).
In the large room incl. bed area upstairs, there is a very well-functioning, strong lighting system - which however does not necessarily emit a very cosy, warm light ...
Finally, there is also an easily operable air-conditioning device - absolutely necessary for the Sicilian summer.
Despite even my minor criticisms, I want to emphasise how comfortable I felt in this flat and how proud I was of myself that I managed to carry a bottle of wine and a small snack up to the wonderful terrace without much trouble, and then enjoy the beautiful panorama and evening atmosphere up there ...