An unforgettable experience in beautiful Sicily

Why did you choose to go to Catania, Italy?

I didn't know much about the city of Catania, but I thought it would be interesting to spend a year in the south of Italy, although I was primarily interested in learning English.

How long was the scholarship? How much money did you receive to help you?

My scholarship lasted 10 months (I believe that it can last 3, 6 or 10 months) and the money depends on the autonomous community that you come from in Spain. In Andalucia, you are entitled to a grant of 1000€ a month if you are a beneficiary of MEC (Ministry of Education, culture and sport), if not, you'll receive 600€.

What is student life like in Catania?

The student life is great! Catania is a university city where there are parties everyday, there is always something interesting to do and the people are wonderful.

Would you recommend the city and the University to other students?

Of course, the city is lovely and personally I fell in love with Catania, well more so than the rest of Sicily. The streets are beautiful, the market which is set up every morning is spectacular, the kids still play in the squares without getting fined - it's a little cosmopolitan because there are people who come from all over the world. I have nothing but good things to say about the University as they had helped me a lot and I felt really accepted. The only bad thing was that some of the lecturers took it upon themselves to act as if they were always pulling your leg and also they would make you wait hours even if it was just to speak to them for five minutes.

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What's the food like there?

Italian food is fantastic! Everything is so exquisite, the sweets, the pasta, the arancini, the cannoli, the mandorla wine (almond wine). In the Italian restaurants, you can get typical Sicilian food, starting with antipasti (entrées) that are finger licking good, after that, you can order yourself a plate of pasta, seasoned sausage or horse meat (traditional in Catania) etc. The food is marvellous! I'd advise you to go to "an agriturismo" which is a place where they grow their own foods in an allotment, and depending on the time of year, they serve you a variety of foods, all traditionally Sicilian and all very tasty.

How did you find your accommodation?

I found my house on line amongst the adverts on one of the pages for the communications faculty. However, it's advisable to rent/find a house once you've arrived in Catania so you can see the house for yourself and also the people that you could end up living with. Being a university city, it's easy to find a house.

What are housing prices like? And the price of living in Catania in general?

Housing prices tend to vary between 150€ and 230€. Of course you can find something more expensive but for the prices that I previously mentioned, you can find a house which is moderately in good condition. The light bill is usually quite expensive, but that's the only thing that is expensive. Food is cheap, clothes are cheap - everything is cheap.

How is the language? Did you do any language courses at the University?

As I had managed to find Italian flatmates and my group of friends was also Italian, the language more or less started to come to me quite easily. You can't go to Italy just to speak Spanish, it's something that a lot of Spanish students do. When I arrived in Catania, I did a month long Italian course, but I learnt more Italian by speaking to people in the streets.

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What is the cheapest way to get to Catania from your city?

It's a little expensive to get a flight from Seville to Catania, but if you manage to find a ticket from Seville to the north of Italy (Milan, Rome, Pisa, Bologna) and then get another flight to Catania it can cost a little less. You can also find a ticket to "Trapani" which is a place close to Palermo and the tickets are usually cheap.

Which places would you recommend for a night out?

During the winter around "Piazza Teatro Massimo" and in summer they open a lot of clubs, all within walking distance to the beach. There are a lot of places that you'd need a car to get to.

And to eat in Catania? Can you recommend some of your favourite places?

Agriturismo di Giarre is the best place to eat, you can eat as much as you want for 20€ and the dishes are all homemade. You shouldn't look at the menu because the in season products of that time of year are all put together to make a meal. La pizzeria bella Napoli, La pizzeria central, Trattoria Coppola are all good too, you can usually eat well in almost any place you go to.

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How were the cultural trips?

It's Italy so the cultural trips were incredible, there is a Greek/Roman theatre, an odeon, thermal hot springs, basilicas, el benedittini, Crociferi road is marvellous - it's full of old Baroque basilicas, there's also Mount Etna volcano that you can see from the city and the tour to the volcano is spectacular... there's so many things to visit!

Do you have any advice for other students who are going to Catania?

Don't listen to everything you've heard about Catania, it's a marvellous city where you can find anything, but you should be sure to be careful, that's the same as anywhere in the world though.