Villa Bellini, Catania

Catania is a heavy, darkly-colored stone city under a brilliant blue sky. Rarely however is the grey, black, blue and brown relieved by the green of vegetation. This is what makes Villa Bellini such a wonderful change. This is really a large park, named after the famous Catanese composer. There are small amusements for children, fields for gaming, and the occassional snack vendor to complement the otherwise peaceful and serene daytime atmosphere. And of course, always a perfect spot to publicly display your affection for your significant other, which the Catanese students do with verve paralleled only by the Romans.

There is lots and lots of statuary in the park - most of it has been singularly vandalized: the noses have been broken off. I never found out if this has some particular meaning or whether it was just random meanness, but the statues themselves are still nice to wander through. The park is fairly clean and feels safe, as it is completely urban and not unmanageably large. It is, however, closed at night.