Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943 — Attraction in Catania

Seriously, go visit it. Trust me.

Absolutely incredible musuem, especially for 4€. I have no idea how (or even if) they make a profit with such content on display, yet such a low price.

The museum manages to make itself accessible to beginners with many visuals (reconstitutions, displays, historical footage), while also having massive amounts of text and details for history buffs who want more information. There is a great variety of content, so it never gets boring either. It's not a "wall of text" museum.

The amount of original uniforms/equipment/memorablia (either donated or preserved) was the highlight to me. It felt like a very intimate visit into wartime Sicily.

If you want to fully explore everything the museum has to offer, you need to set aside at least 3 hours in my opinion, although the museum can be ran through in an hour. I highly recommend taking your time, as it absolutely deserves your attention.

The musuem is deceptively small, and much larger and labyrinthine on the inside. Take a picture of the floor map at the entrance (where each room is numbered in visit order) and you'll be absolutely fine.

My only criticism echoes what other reviews have said: all videos have no english subtitles, and a number of panels lack english text. I especially regret not being able to understand the interviews of Sicilian veterans and survivors from the time.

TL;DR: this is a world-class museum which puts many more expensive ones to shame. Support it with your visit, they...

A very good museum, a must go in Catania and definitely head and shoulders above most of its other tourist attractions. Unfortunately, brought down by some serious (though easy to remove!!) Issues. Give it at least half a day if you're interested in the topic of WW2.

The good Well balanced focus on the topic: first a broad introduction, then more detailed walkthrough, then even more deep dives into individual categories of life and war comprehensive collections of: uniforms, equipment and personal weapons of all sides of the conflict (Italy, Germany, Britain, USA, Canada) some heavier weapons (heavy machine guns, mortars, grenade throwers) even some heavy guns, a torpedo, etc a lot of text, as well as photos and contemporary posters, newspapers etc. video on several screens throughout the exhibition several life-size recreations of situations from both civilian and military life (bomb shelter, infantry bunker, trenches, landing boat, red cross station, signing of the armistice,. ..) several models of battlefields

The bad Poor lightning (such a shame!!! so much work and then you just can't see it. Saving electricity??) Many texts (and all videos) in Italian only; English, where present, is sometimes barely understandable

The ugly: On the armistice signing tent photo you can see how poorly lit it was. Basically you can only really see just 1 of the...

The WW2 museum in Catania is an excellent feature for those interested in WW2 history. The museum provides information on both an Axis and Allied involvement during the conflict that took place on Sicily.

The start of the tour is a short video which covers the main events of the war but generally from an Italian view. It has English subtitles and features footage from the war time events. We were then invited to the next section of the museum, which is an immersive experience, by a guide. The lady gave us a good explanation, in English, about what we were standing in - a typical Sicilian street in 1940s. Continuing the immersive experience in a recreation of a bomb shelter with noise and vibration. This is done in a way to prevent you feeling claustrophobic but so you still get an appreciation for what it may have been like. After moving through the remnants of the previous scene after the bombing, you continue through the rest of the museum at your own pace which has videos, photographs, news and materials used during the war. The museum features heavily the American involvement on the Island, but, does give a perspective from both Axis defensive and Allied invasion views. There are some areas that do not have English translation however for €4 per person, this is a great museum and well worth the visit. We spent approximately 2-3 hours here but I am a...