Prior to 18th century
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- 729 BCE – Catina founded by Naxians.[1]
- 476 BCE – Hiero I of Syracuse expels residents to Leontini; settlement renamed "Aetna".[2][1]
- 461 BCE – Settlement named "Catina" again.[1]
- 403 BCE – Catina taken by forces of Dionysius I of Syracuse.[1]
- 263 BCE – Catina taken by Roman forces during the First Punic War.[1]
- 122 BCE – Mount Etna eruption of 122 BCE.[1]
- 2nd C. CE - Amphitheatre of Catania
- 251 CE - Lava stream threatens the town.[1]
- 535 CE – Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire takes Sicily.[1]
- 4th–5th C. CE – Roman Catholic diocese of Catania active.[3]
- 902 CE – Catania "sacked by the Saracens" during the Muslim conquest of Sicily.[1]
- 1090 – Catania Cathedral founded.[4][1]
- 1169 – February: 1169 Sicily earthquake.[1]
- 1194 – Catania sacked by forces of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor.[4]
- 1232 – Political unrest.[4]
- 1239 - Castello Ursino (castle) ordered to be constructed by Emperor Frederick II, King of Sicily.
- 1282 – War of the Sicilian Vespers.
- 1296 – "Parliament at Catania elected Frederick of Aragon king of Sicily."[4]
- 1350 – Castello Ursino (castle) built.
- 1435 – "Social unrest."[4]
- 1434 – University of Catania opens.[1]
- 1647 – Political unrest.
- 1669 – 1669 Etna eruption causes destruction in region near city.[1]
- 1687 – Chiesa di San Nicolò l'Arena (church) construction begins.
- 1693 – January: 1693 Sicily earthquake causes much destruction in city.[1]
