Before the arrival Ivana sent us a lot of useful information about her apartment, Catania and other places to visit. She offered us and also booked for us a very recommendable excursion to Mount Etna. On the night we arrived she also booked a dinner in a fancy restaurant. We enjoyed both a lot - you have to ask her about these two attractions! :)
The place is located quite far from the center (an hour of walking or around half an hour by car) but we were provided with a free transport for our trip to Mount Etna and the dinner. Moreover, Ivana picked us up at the station in the center when we arrived, and took us back to the station on our departure day (very early in the morning as we needed) - both for an extra fee, but it was cheaper than a taxi.
Nevertheless, the costs of getting to the center must be taken into account because the public transport works very poorly in the suburban area of Catania (locals also confirmed it, and struggled to provide useful hints on what to do). We had a long wait for several buses in a row and in the end none arrived :D Fortunately we had GPS, it wasn't that long of a walk to the center, and the weather was decent. And Ivana picked us up when we called her after dinner so we didn't soak in the rain. It was a part of our Sicilian adventure :)