Let me first start by saying the apartment itself is very nice. The amenities are modern, the shower is one of the best we have stayed in, and the bed is comfortable with a great sky light. The door is very solid and the lock mechanism is secure.

Why am I telling you about the door? The area is not good at night. We arrived at the train station around 7-8pm just as it was getting dark. On our way to the apartment which is a short walk (5-10 mins), we saw a hooker being solicited and getting into said car. We arrived at the apartment and her husband was waiting outside with his head on a swivel to see danger coming.

We climbed some stairs which wasn't great fun with luggage, but definitely doable. He showed us around the apartment as we tried to connect to WiFi. If the WiFi worked properly, I think we wouldn't have complained, but they don't have their own WiFi, they use the neighbor's below and have an extender. It rarely stays connected.

For food, we ventured 2 blocks at night to a cafeteria on the corner because even on the main drag, we saw some sketchy looking people and we weren't going to risk going farther north. Obviously, they had a limited selection, but the attendant was incredibly nice. We got some wine too at a nearby shop, but that was mainly to avoid contact with drug dealers roaming up the streets. On our way back, we saw two men smoking and peeing on the side of a building, great way to finish off the night. After deadbolting the door shut, we went to sleep because we couldn't access the internet.
In the morning, it was like a whole new city. It wasn't lively, but all the cockroaches slithered back into their crevices. We went to the train station via the more public drag that we were almost mugged on the night before. Interesting that we were also very close to the bus station where we could have gone to Taormina which would have been much nicer.

Can't imagine who wants to actually stay in Catania after our experience. If you want to see the sights, do it early, and get out of the city.

Last complaint: Woke up with tons of mosquito bites. Didn't see any when we went to bed, no windows were open, but we got eaten up.