I’ve been to Catania three times now (first time with the military, second time to stay with my girlfriend at the time I met while there with the military, third time was to visit my friends & spend my birthday down there), figured I know a lot about the place might as well write about it.
Basic info about me: 24 year old Jamaican-American, 5’10, been studying the game since 2011, slim build
About Catania: Catania is Sicily’s second largest city (Palermo being the largest city and the capital of Sicily). A lot of different groups of people have had their hand in Sicily, which you can hear in the language (Sicilian), see in the food, and you can definitely see it in the women. Catania has a lot of history behind it, and Mt. Etna in the backyard make it a great place to visit overall. There’s some migrants and gypsies in the city, but the sub-Saharan Africans are all extremely friendly (or at least they were to me). Matter of fact, Sicily is actually where they usually land with the boats coming from northern Africa.
Sightseeing: Definitely check out Mt. Etna, it’s one of the top 10 most active volcanoes in the world. There’s an amphitheater that someone found while digging out the city to build a subway system, right in the middle of the city... I forget the name. It’s pretty cool to walk down the steps and through the amphitheater while traffic is passing by right on top of you. Taormina (about an hour away) has some ancient Greco-Roman amphitheaters and other ruins that are really cool to see, along with Siracusa.
Food: If you’re in Catania, go to a restaurant called Fud. If you google it or whatever, it’s on an alleyway/street that’s full of restaurants (we called it restaurant alley). Every restaurant on this street is good. Trust me. Menus aren't all in English though so be warned. You’ll probably pay 30 euro per person there, but it’s always packed. Don’t forget the street food, arachini (fried tear-dropped shaped blob stuffed with rice, ragu sauce, and meat or whatever else they decide to put in there) are so good! Cost about a euro or two. Can’t forget cannoli as well. Other Italian foods are also pretty good throughout Sicily.
Where to stay: try to stay near Via Umberto, which is the main street that runs through Catania. Via Umberto near Elephant Square would be clutch, or Piazza Bellini would be another good option. Elephant Square and Piazza Bellini are a 10-minute walk away from each other.
Women: Sicilian women are so god damn beautiful! Lol. Standard Italian women, but add a lot of curly hair and take away a lot of height. Sicilian women don’t usually grow past 5’9 at the tallest. Dark hair/dark eyes combo. Most girls 18-30 have a basic understanding of English and that’s about it, but a few are fluent after spending some time in the UK or Australia. However, if they’re in Italy, you gotta be in their social group or connected to their social group to knock boots with them. The girls are slutty once they know someone you know.
Outside of local women you can try your hand at the American navy girls, who will definitely be accompanied by 12+ American navy dudes lol. Backpackers from what I’ve seen don’t include Catania on their travel itinerary.
Daygame: Haven’t tried it out here, but university is always an option. Outside of school and the beach, I’m not really sure where the women go during the day..
Nightgame: There’s a few bars near Elephant Square right off of Via Umberto that have good talent. You can try with a wingman to infiltrate these groups of 7’s and up, but good luck. Waxy O’Conner’s (Irish pub) is my personal favorite, they have live music and free shelled peanuts to eat with your beer, which is decently priced as well. However, if you’re into the club game and have a car/riding with friends, the good clubs are nearby the beaches or are on the outskirts of the town. Quick list of what I can remember off of the top of my head..
Barbara: closest to the city, a 10 euro taxi ride will get you there from Elephant Square. Expect to hear house/techno music here, weed smoking and girls on molly. Standard Europe I guess.
Banacher: discotech near the beach, standard house/techno and top 40 if my friend is DJ’ing there.
Afrobar: just like the other two, on the beach, they play reggae in addition to house/techno
The girls dress to kill when they go out, but don’t have a bitch shield. Approaching is extremely easy, but for me, closing and ONS is difficult. Italian girls don’t really “grind” when they dance to hip hop or reggae, so dance floor escalation can be a little tricky (for me, at least). Isolation is sorta tough as well, but since half of Italy smokes, you can probably catch them on a smoke break or something. Exotic factor isn’t really big here, since Catania is so close to an American base, they’ve seen Latinos Asians and Black Americans.
The navy guys are usually out and about during the weekends, and you can always spot them from a mile away, it’s kinda funny for me at least. They usually play wallflower and stick out like a sore thumb, good guys though, they probably won’t be cockblocking you, although some Italian girls do want a guy from Sigonella (the name of the base) to swoop them from their Italian economic woes.
Flags: I met my ex girlfriend there while out one night while sober. She speaks fluent English so there was no language barrier issues. In the end, she was one of the girls that just wanted an escape from Italy.
I have a few potential slut dates lined up for the next time I go back, my Italian friends have identified a lot of girls that, as they say "like the cock too much" lol.. solid 7's that have thrown IOI's at me. Can't wait to go back..
Other random shit: Best time to go would probably be from late April to November. The party scene will still be very active in Catania even when school is out. On 1 May they have a HUGE reggae/house/top 40 festival on the beach at Afro Bar. That was a cool experience. The mob hires guys that will “watch” your parked car for you, that you basically have to pay an extortion fee to. They’ll guide you into the parking space, and stand right by you until you pay up. I wouldn’t pay more than a euro, and 2 euro if your car is nice. Driving in Catania is a lot less hectic than Naples, but the narrow streets can be a bitch at times. Most Sicilians speak Italian mixed with a few Sicilian words when they speak with people they know, but the “hood” guys speak straight Sicilian, to everyone. This can be an issue when getting taxis and what not. I’m not sure if Uber works here. Airbnb can be pretty cheap in the center, I paid 27 bucks a night for a newly renovated studio right near Via Umberto in June. The host was so cool! Great guy. Don’t openly talk about the mafia while out and about, just an unwritten rule. The mob is a touchy subject because they all have been affected by them.. Although what I found to be pretty funny, if you’re up at 6 am, you’ll probably see a man on a chariot attached to a horse riding through the city.. that’s a Mafioso. According to my friends and my ex-girlfriend, they race these chariots for money, and the horse that loses, usually gets killed for the meat (they eat horse in Sicily). I always used to make fun of them from a safe distance because they reminded me of Ben Hur lol.. 1 week in Catania with day trips to places like Taormina and Siracusa will be good enough for a first time visit
Basic info about me: 24 year old Jamaican-American, 5’10, been studying the game since 2011, slim build
About Catania: Catania is Sicily’s second largest city (Palermo being the largest city and the capital of Sicily). A lot of different groups of people have had their hand in Sicily, which you can hear in the language (Sicilian), see in the food, and you can definitely see it in the women. Catania has a lot of history behind it, and Mt. Etna in the backyard make it a great place to visit overall. There’s some migrants and gypsies in the city, but the sub-Saharan Africans are all extremely friendly (or at least they were to me). Matter of fact, Sicily is actually where they usually land with the boats coming from northern Africa.
Sightseeing: Definitely check out Mt. Etna, it’s one of the top 10 most active volcanoes in the world. There’s an amphitheater that someone found while digging out the city to build a subway system, right in the middle of the city... I forget the name. It’s pretty cool to walk down the steps and through the amphitheater while traffic is passing by right on top of you. Taormina (about an hour away) has some ancient Greco-Roman amphitheaters and other ruins that are really cool to see, along with Siracusa.
Food: If you’re in Catania, go to a restaurant called Fud. If you google it or whatever, it’s on an alleyway/street that’s full of restaurants (we called it restaurant alley). Every restaurant on this street is good. Trust me. Menus aren't all in English though so be warned. You’ll probably pay 30 euro per person there, but it’s always packed. Don’t forget the street food, arachini (fried tear-dropped shaped blob stuffed with rice, ragu sauce, and meat or whatever else they decide to put in there) are so good! Cost about a euro or two. Can’t forget cannoli as well. Other Italian foods are also pretty good throughout Sicily.
Where to stay: try to stay near Via Umberto, which is the main street that runs through Catania. Via Umberto near Elephant Square would be clutch, or Piazza Bellini would be another good option. Elephant Square and Piazza Bellini are a 10-minute walk away from each other.
Women: Sicilian women are so god damn beautiful! Lol. Standard Italian women, but add a lot of curly hair and take away a lot of height. Sicilian women don’t usually grow past 5’9 at the tallest. Dark hair/dark eyes combo. Most girls 18-30 have a basic understanding of English and that’s about it, but a few are fluent after spending some time in the UK or Australia. However, if they’re in Italy, you gotta be in their social group or connected to their social group to knock boots with them. The girls are slutty once they know someone you know.
Outside of local women you can try your hand at the American navy girls, who will definitely be accompanied by 12+ American navy dudes lol. Backpackers from what I’ve seen don’t include Catania on their travel itinerary.
Daygame: Haven’t tried it out here, but university is always an option. Outside of school and the beach, I’m not really sure where the women go during the day..
Nightgame: There’s a few bars near Elephant Square right off of Via Umberto that have good talent. You can try with a wingman to infiltrate these groups of 7’s and up, but good luck. Waxy O’Conner’s (Irish pub) is my personal favorite, they have live music and free shelled peanuts to eat with your beer, which is decently priced as well. However, if you’re into the club game and have a car/riding with friends, the good clubs are nearby the beaches or are on the outskirts of the town. Quick list of what I can remember off of the top of my head..
Barbara: closest to the city, a 10 euro taxi ride will get you there from Elephant Square. Expect to hear house/techno music here, weed smoking and girls on molly. Standard Europe I guess.
Banacher: discotech near the beach, standard house/techno and top 40 if my friend is DJ’ing there.
Afrobar: just like the other two, on the beach, they play reggae in addition to house/techno
The girls dress to kill when they go out, but don’t have a bitch shield. Approaching is extremely easy, but for me, closing and ONS is difficult. Italian girls don’t really “grind” when they dance to hip hop or reggae, so dance floor escalation can be a little tricky (for me, at least). Isolation is sorta tough as well, but since half of Italy smokes, you can probably catch them on a smoke break or something. Exotic factor isn’t really big here, since Catania is so close to an American base, they’ve seen Latinos Asians and Black Americans.
The navy guys are usually out and about during the weekends, and you can always spot them from a mile away, it’s kinda funny for me at least. They usually play wallflower and stick out like a sore thumb, good guys though, they probably won’t be cockblocking you, although some Italian girls do want a guy from Sigonella (the name of the base) to swoop them from their Italian economic woes.
Flags: I met my ex girlfriend there while out one night while sober. She speaks fluent English so there was no language barrier issues. In the end, she was one of the girls that just wanted an escape from Italy.
I have a few potential slut dates lined up for the next time I go back, my Italian friends have identified a lot of girls that, as they say "like the cock too much" lol.. solid 7's that have thrown IOI's at me. Can't wait to go back..
Other random shit: Best time to go would probably be from late April to November. The party scene will still be very active in Catania even when school is out. On 1 May they have a HUGE reggae/house/top 40 festival on the beach at Afro Bar. That was a cool experience. The mob hires guys that will “watch” your parked car for you, that you basically have to pay an extortion fee to. They’ll guide you into the parking space, and stand right by you until you pay up. I wouldn’t pay more than a euro, and 2 euro if your car is nice. Driving in Catania is a lot less hectic than Naples, but the narrow streets can be a bitch at times. Most Sicilians speak Italian mixed with a few Sicilian words when they speak with people they know, but the “hood” guys speak straight Sicilian, to everyone. This can be an issue when getting taxis and what not. I’m not sure if Uber works here. Airbnb can be pretty cheap in the center, I paid 27 bucks a night for a newly renovated studio right near Via Umberto in June. The host was so cool! Great guy. Don’t openly talk about the mafia while out and about, just an unwritten rule. The mob is a touchy subject because they all have been affected by them.. Although what I found to be pretty funny, if you’re up at 6 am, you’ll probably see a man on a chariot attached to a horse riding through the city.. that’s a Mafioso. According to my friends and my ex-girlfriend, they race these chariots for money, and the horse that loses, usually gets killed for the meat (they eat horse in Sicily). I always used to make fun of them from a safe distance because they reminded me of Ben Hur lol.. 1 week in Catania with day trips to places like Taormina and Siracusa will be good enough for a first time visit