Catania is the second largest city in Sicily, with a population of about 300,000, located on the Ionian Sea, and has been the focus of many empires over the centuries, from the Greeks to Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards (to name a few), but its citizens have an enemy more dangerous; Mount Etna, Europe's largest and most active volcano, which wrecked the city with earthquakes and lava flows in 1693. Visit the city and see firsthand the Baroque buildings dating back to the aftermath of the eruption, and you will notice the creative use of lava.