Sicilian Nightlife in Catania

Catania is Sicily's second largest city, situated in the middle of the eastern Ionian coast. The City is vibrant and full of grand architecture, which almost feels like you're on a movie set. Unfortunately, most of the walls leading up to the centre are faced with untalented graffiti, which gives the city a slightly dirty feel and takes away some of the beauty of the buildings.

I visited Catania and experienced the buzzing, friendly nightlife. I definitely stood out as a foreigner in the city, as I was not wearing the norm and sexy look, of tight jeans and tight tops, which nearly every woman... and man seemed to be wearing.

It was unusual to see such a large number of men so well groomed as here. It is obvious that they take pride in their appearance, but so much so that they might be mistaken as homosexual in England! This, together with the more intimate greetings they give each other is something unseen in England.

Men and women seem to openly look at each other more, on both parts and it is not taken as sleazy on either side. This is very different from England where the onus is nearly completely on the man and with the woman it seems to be less frequent. Indeed, in one bar a young pretty blonde girl was stood, fascinated by our group or a couple of minutes. When our Italian guide said 'hi', she didn't turn away in embarrassment or nerves. Instead she beamed a big smile and said 'ciao' back. She was very friendly and chatted with us before leaving with her friends.

In the main bar area, most of the customers were stood/seated outside drinking and chatting. There seemed to be no danger of lairy, drunk Sicilians anywhere, just people happy to be out on a Friday night. The only danger you had to be aware of was the crazy erratic driving of Sicilians on their scooters, nipping through all the side streets. If you had a bottle/plastic cup you were free to roam from different bars, across the streets. Making no reason for downing drinks and moving on abruptly, which also added to the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The middle square was full of people all night. Only at about 3 or 4 am did people seem to move on or go home for the night.

After visiting Catania and experiencing the Italian culture, it made me think about our own and wish it was a bit more like theirs: relaxed, open and friendly. Our weather does not permit such relaxed and communal gatherings in outside spaces very often, but hopefully the UK will become more European in its relaxed social and drinking culture in the future.