The Ursino castle in Catania was built by Frederick II of Swabia in the XIII century. The manor had a certain visibility during the Sicilian Vespers, as the seat of the parliament and, later, the residence of the Sovereigns of Sicily of the Aragonese dynasty including Frederick III. Today it houses the Civic Museum of the Etna city, mainly formed by the Biscari and Benedictine collections.

Piazza Dante Alighieri is an area of the historic centre of Catania, which can be accessed via Gesualdo Clementi from the north-east and via Mascali from the Antico Corso. On the north-west side of the square overlooks the imposing church of San Nicolò l'Arena, which has an exedra in front of it, from the centre of which via Gesuiti starts, parallel to via Clementi further south. On the south-east side there is access to the former Benedictine Monastery, annexed to the Church and today the university seat of the Department of Humanities, while in the centre of the southern part of the square there are the Remains of the Acropolis Baths, whose archaeological excavations date to 1981; on the same site further south there is a flowerbed with a fountain. In ancient times it was called "Laggu/Chianu de' Benedettini" or "d''a Cipriana".

The square is inserted in the historic centre of the city and has numerous access roads. The historic theatre dedicated to the famous composer from Catania overlooks it and in the centre is the unforgettable Fontana dei Delfini, located here around the middle of the last century and coming from the nearby church of Badia S.Agata.