Catania (for Mount Etna & Taormina) cruises, Italy

What's great about Catania (for Mount Etna & Taormina) cruises?

Built out of limestone and lava, this black and white city’s the second biggest in Sicily. Think palazzo-lined boulevards, shop-fringed squares and designer bars stuffed into Baroque buildings. An ancient port, it comes with a history dating back to the 8th century BC. Plus, it’s got a reputation as the hottest spot in Italy, and it’s not just the 40-degree summers that earn it the title. It also sits at the foot of Mount Etna – Europe’s tallest active volcano. In fact, Catania’s been buried by sizzling hot lava flows more than once. One of its eruptions even gained Hollywood credentials – it featured in Star Wars: Episode III.

• Call in at Ursino Castle. It’s one of the few Medieval buildings still standing – its moat diverted the lava flow from a volcanic eruption – and it’s now home to the city’s Civic Museum.
• Enter a timewarp at the Greco-Roman amphitheatre. It bears a passing resemblance to Rome’s magnificent Colosseum, and you can easily imagine gladiators locked in battle in the arena.
• Take a daytrip to Mount Etna and fill your camera with snaps of cones, craters and red-hot lava streams. You can catch a cable car, which will whisk you up to over 8,000 feet.