Giardino Bellini ('a Villa)
Bellini Garden is the oldest of Catania, known more simply as a' Villa. The oldest dates back to the eighteenth century and belonged to the Prince Ignazio Paternò Castello di Biscari, who had wanted it full of mazes hedges, statues and fountains to gush with water. In 1875 the municipality bought the property two years later commissioned its renovation to the engineer Filadelfo Fichera, who gave it the current configuration. Inaugurated in 1883, the Garden became usual destination for families. The monumental entrance on Via Etnea was created by sculptor Domenico Maria Lazzaro. in the '30s it was treated the floral aspect through real designs and inscriptions in the flower beds. In 1960 it also became a small zoo with migratory birds in the wild, various species of monkeys and elephants. Today the Garden is a simple tree-lined park, home to cultural events and concerts. On the hill, which is the background to the tank, has placed a large clock made up of evergreen seedlings, on it a calendar that gardeners modify every day. The structure, as a whole, is divided into two symmetrical hills and a great avenue ring connected by walkways to the labyrinth of hedges, in various places with caves water games. A wrought iron kiosk housed, until the '60s, classical music concerts. The Avenue of Illustrious Men, west of the Garden, was opened in 1880 with the busts of the most famous in Italian history and Catania.
