Catania lies on the eastern coast of Sicily, between the Ionian Sea and the slopes of Etna, on a plain which is one of the most fertile on the island. From an architectural point of view the more relevant buildings are the Ursino Castle which houses the Civic Museum and Art Gallery, the Bellini Museum in the house of the musician Vincenzo Bellini, the Roman amphitheatre from the time of Augustus and the Giovanni Verga Museum which is in the house where the writer was born. Founded in 729 BC by Greeks from Chalcis, it has a history going back thousands of years, characterised by various dominations of which the remains enrich the artistic, architectural and cultural heritage. In the course of it's history it was often destroyed by volcanic eruptions (le most violent in histroic times being that of 1669) and earthquakes (the most catastophic recorded are those of 1169 and 1693). The Baroque architecture of the old town center declared a World Heritage Site, together with the seven towns of the Vale of Noto (Caltagirone, Militello in the  Vale of Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa and Scicli), in 2002.