Roger I of Sicily ordered the original Norman church, built from 1078 to 1093 on the ruins of the Roman Achillean Baths. Its fabric used large lava stones, many reused from imperial Roman buildings. The 1693 earthquake left it mostly in ruins, and it was rebuilt in the Baroque style.
Giovanni Battista Vaccarini designed the facade, dated 1711, which uses granite Corinthian columns possibly from the Roman Theatre. The dome was built in 1802. The plan is a Latin cross with a nave and two aisles. The bell tower dates to 1387, and its clock was added in 1662.
The bell weighs 7.5 tons, the third largest in Italy. An earthquake in 1169 nearly destroyed the earlier building, leaving only the apse. It is the seat of the Archbishops of Catania, and the article gives no visiting details.
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