Ursino Castle

Where: Catania
Best for: Frederick II castle
Allow: 1 hr 30 min
Tickets: From €6; Checked September 2026

Emperor Frederick II raised Castello Ursino in Catania between 1239 and 1250 as a royal stronghold on a sea cliff. In 1669 Etna’s lava filled the moat and pushed the coastline out, and the castle now stands well inland, in a square of its own.

It survived the earthquake of 1693 that flattened most of Catania. Its square towers and thick walls of dark lava stone are austere, but inside the Museo Civico opened in 1934 holds the city’s inheritance: the Biscari collection of antiquities, Greek pottery, Roman marbles and coins, and paintings from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century. Come for the building as much as for the rooms, and for the courtyard.

Sources and citations (2)

Museo Civico Castello UrsinoIl CastelloCastle overview and institutional historyRead source
City of Catania TourismLa StoriaOpening construction chronologyRead source

Four things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

The Biscari collectionEighteenth-century aristocratic collection
Antiquities, Greek pottery, Roman marbles and coins collected by a Catanese noble family.Museo Civico galleries
The courtyard and Gothic staircaseRenaissance addition to a Swabian castle
An outside staircase in Gothic style, in a courtyard that is calm and cool.Central courtyard
The prison graffitiSixteenth to nineteenth century
Hundreds of scratched crosses, ships and inscriptions left by prisoners when the castle served as a jail.Ground floor
The lava-stone hallsThirteenth century
Large vaulted halls of dark lava stone, austere rooms that show the scale of Frederick II’s fortress.Upper floors

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets: From €6
Booking: No booking needed
Time needed: 1 hr 30 min
Best time: Morning, then the courtyard is cool and quiet
Getting there: The castle stands on Piazza Federico II di Svevia, a short walk south-west of Piazza Duomo through the old center. From the Stazione Centrale it is a straightforward walk or a short bus ride into the center; there is no parking at the door, so use a garage nearby.

Part of Catania’s civic museum system, which has combined ticket options with other city museums. Last updated September 2026. Prices change, so check the official site before you go.

Start in the courtyard and look for the trace of the old moat, then go up: the museum is at its best on the upper floor, where the Biscari collection sits in the vaulted rooms.

See tours Official website

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