Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/230

218 of San Juan de Londres, which had been founded in 1558. Population about 6000.  CATANIA, the ancient Catana, a city and seaport of Sicily and the chief town of a province, is situated on the east coast of the island, at the foot of the southern projections of Mount Etna, about 60 miles by rail from Messina, in 37 28 20&quot; N. lat. and 15 5 15&quot; E. long. It is one of the most important and attractive cities in the island, and has a fine appearance from the sea. Its streets are wide, regular, and finely paved with blocks of lava ; and not only its public buildings but a large number of its private mansions are spacious and handsome structures of lava and limestone ornamented with marble. Among its churches, which number upwards of a hundred, the first place is held by the cathedral, originally founded by Roger I. in 1091, but for the most part rebuilt since the earthquake of 1693; and, at the head of its monastic institutions stands the great Benedictine abbey of San Nicolo, which occupies an area of about 21 acres, and has hardly more than two or three buildings of the same kind in Europe to be compared with it. Its first foundation dates from 1518, when the Benedictines removed from the town of Nicolosi further up the slope of Mount Etna, where they had been settled since 1359 ; but the present buildings were erected in the beginning of the 18th century by Coutini of Home. The church is principally remarkable for a grand organ, with seventy-two stops and 2916 pipes, built by Donato del Piano in 1760. The chief educational institution is the university founded in 1445 by Alphonso of Aragon; it has five faculties and thirty-eight professors, and was attended in 1873 by 233 students. The library is of considerable extent ; but its collections of antiquities are surpassed by those in the Biscari Museum, founded by Prince Ignazio Biscari in the end of the 18th. century. The senate house, the theatre, and the hospitals are the most important of the other buildings ; and among the associations may be mentioned an academy of sciences and a college of the fine arts. Remains of the Roman period are numerous and extensive ; they include a theatre, an amphitheatre, an odeum, several baths known as the Bagni Achillei, a num ber of tombs to the north-west of the town, and a few fragments of a so-called temple of Ceres. The theatre is for the most part buried under the debris of volcanic dis turbances ; and it has at different times served as a quarry for more modern buildings. Catania is the seat of a bishop, a prefect, and a court of appeal, as well as the residence of the grand prior of the Order of Malta. It is a place of great wealth, and is remarkable for the display of its festivals, of which the most important is held in August in honour of Santa Agata, the patroness of the city. Its industry and commerce are of considerable importance; silk and linen are largely manufactured, and there is a regular export of sulphur, grain, fruits, macaroni, olives, and articles in amber -and lava. IB 1873 the sulphur shipped amounted to 57,383 tons. In 1871 there entered the port 2297 sailing and 434 steam ships, with a respective tonnage of 97,442 and 162,387 tons. The value of the exports to Great Britain in 1874 was 160,000. The harbour is small, and accessible only to comparatively small craft, but another is in course of construction, which will be capable of receiving vessels of the largest size. Population in 1871, 84,379.

1em  CATANZARO, a city of Italy, capital of the province of Calabria Ulteriore II., stands on the slope of a lofty and rocky hill near the Gulf of Squillace, 30 miles S.S.E. of Cosen/a. It is the seat of a bishopric, and has a cathedral, several churches and convents, a castle, built by Robert Guiscard, a royal academy of sciences, a diocesan school, a college, a theatre, a foundling and two other hospitals, and other charitable institutions. It has manufactures of silk, velvet, and woollen goods, and a considerable trade in corn and wine and walnut oil. The most important fact in its history is the successful defence it made in the 16th century against the French general Lautrec. In 1783 many of its principal buildings were destroyed by an earth quake. Population, 24,900.  CATAPULTA, a military engine, employed by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It was constructed of wood and ropes in such a way that a sudden and forcible recoil could be produced, sufficient to project arrows and spears to a considerable distance. It is usually mentioned with the ballista, which was employed for projecting heavy stones; and in later times the two were often confounded.  CATARACT. See.  CATARRH (from Karap/&amp;gt;o, to flow down) is a term employed to describe a state of irritation of the mucous membrane of the air passages, or what is called in popular language a cold. This complaint, so prevalent in damp and cold weather, usually begins as a nasal catarrh or coryza, with a feeling of weight about the forehead and some degree of difficulty in breathing through the nose, increased on lying down. Fits of sneezing accompanied with a profuse watery discharge from the nostrils and eyes soon follow, while the sense of smell and to some extent that of taste become considerably impaired. There is usually present some amount of sore throat and of bronchial irritation, causing hoarseness and cough. Sometimes the vocal apparatus becomes so much inflamed (laryngcal catarrh) that temporary loss of voice results. There is always more or less feverishness and discomfort, and frequently an extreme sensitiveness to cold. After two or three days the symptoms begin to abate, the discharge from the nostrils and chest becoming thicker and of purulent character, and producing when dislodged consider able relief to the breathing. On the other hand the catarrh may assume a more severe aspect and pass into some form of pulmonary inflammation (see ). A peculiar catarrhal affection occasionally occurs, in an epidemic form, to which the name Influenza is applied (see ). Many remedies have been proposed with the view of cutting short a catarrh, but none of them are infallible, even where they can be safely employed. In some cases an opiate taken at the outset proves effectual for this end, but as often it will be found to fail. Entire abstinence from liquids of every kind for a period of forty-eight hours has been recommended as sufficient to cure any catarrh, but few will be found willing to submit to such a regimen. Many persons appear to think that they will get rid of a cold most quickly by continuing to go about, and, happily, 