Piazza Dante Alighieri is an area in the historic center of Catania, accessed by Via Gesualdo Clementi from the northeast and Via Mascali from Antico Corso. On the northwest side of the square faces the imposing church of San Nicolò l'Arena, which has an exedra in front of it, from the center of which starts via Gesuiti, the southernmost parallel of via Clementi. On the southeast side is the entrance to the former Benedictine Monastery, attached to the church and now the university headquarters of the Department of Humanities, while in the center of the southern part of the square are the Remains of the Acropolis Baths, whose archaeological excavations date back to 1981; on the same site further south is a flowerbed with a fountain. In ancient times it was called "Laggu/Chianu de' Benedettini" or "d''a Cipriana."
