CATANIA

First recorded in Malta in the 1419 Militia Roster with forms including Di Catania, Cat(h)ani, Cataneo/a, and Catanoso.

This surname is most certainly linked to the Sicilian city of the same name, the ancient Greek colony, known as Katane (Catina in Latin) founded by the Chalkidians of Naxos in the 8th Century BCE. Under the Arabs, it was known as Qataniah, which was re-Latinized to Catania.

This heraldry features a landscape with a medieval tower topped with a saltire. The path towards it is often shown in azure (blue) indicating it might be a stream of water.