CATANIA 379 CATHABINE II. CATANIA (ancient Catdna), a city on the E. coast of Sicily, the capital of the province of Catania (area, 1,907 square miles; pop. about 850,000), at the foot of Mount Etna. It has been repeatedly visited by tremendous earth- quakes, and has been partially laid in ruins by lava from eruptions of Mount Etna; but it has always revived, and has much more the features of a metrop- olis than Palermo. Most of the edifices have an air of magnificence unknown in other parts of the island. The cathedral, founded by Count Roger in 1094, is a fine building. The manufacture of silk, linen, and articles in lava, amber, etc., constitutes the chief industry. The ruins of the amphitheater, which was more extensive than the Colosseum at Rome, are still to be seen, as also the , remains of the theater, baths, aqueducts, sepulchral chambers, hippodrome, and several temples. The harbor was choked up by the eruption of 1669, so that for the larger vessels there is nothing but a roadstead. In spite of this Catania has a considerable trade, and exports wheat, barley, wine, oil, etc. It is the seat of a bishop and of a university, founded in 1445. Pop. about 220,000. CATANZARO (ancient Catacium), a city of Italy, capital of the province of the same name, located 8 miles from the Gulf of Squillace. It contains a cathe- dral, an academy of sciences, a lyceum and three hospitals. Situated on a height, it is cool in summer and a desirable place of residence. There is a considerable trade in wines, wheat, and oils, and the chief manufactures are silk and velvet. Pop. about 40,000. CATARACT, an affection of the sight, in which the crystalline lens of the eye is more or less permeated by opaque matter, and objective vision either wholly or partially prevented. Cataract is of two kinds, viz., hard and soft. Hard cataract is most common among old people. Soft may occur at any age, but is found most frequently among chil- dren, and especially among those who have been born with this condition; in the latter case it is called congenital cat- aract. Traumatic cataract is so called when it is the result of a wound of the lens. Cataract is very recognizable in children, in whom it presents a bluish- white appearance like milk and water in the pupil of the eye; in aged persons the color is much darker and less dis- tinct, and therefore more difficult to see, but a careful examination will detect the opacity in the lens. Cataract is usually amenable to surgical treatment. CATARACT. See Waterfall. CATEAU, LE, or CATEAU-CAMBRE- SIS, (kat-5), a town in the French de- partment of Nord, on the Selle, 14 miles E. S. E. of Cambrai. Pop. about 10,000. Here in 1559 the treaty of Cateau-Cam- bresis was concluded between Henry II. of France and Philip II. of Spain. CATHARINE, the name of several Christian saints: (1) St. Catharine proper, a virgin of royal descent in Alexandria, who publicly confessed the Gospel at a sacrificial feast appointed by the Emperor Maximinus, and was therefore put to death, after they had vainly attempted to torture her on toothed wheels, 307 A. D. Hence the name of Catharine wheel. St. Cath- arine's festival falls on Nov. 25. (2) St. Catharine of Sienna, one of the most famous saints of Italy, was the daughter of a dyer in Sienna, and was born there in 1347. While yet a child she practiced extraordinary mortifications, and de- voted herself to perpetual virginity. She became a Dominican, and therefore afterward a patron saint of the Domin- icans. She was given, it was said, ex- traordinary tokens of favor by Christ, whose Stigmata were imprinted upon her body. She wrote devotional pieces, letters, and poems, an edition of which is Tomasseo's (Florence, 1860). Her festival falls on April 30. St. Catha- rine of Genoa (1447-1510), festival March 22 or Sept. 5 ; St. Catharine of Bo- logna (1413-1463), festival March 9; and St. Catharine of Sweden (1331-1381), festival March 22, are of less note. CATHARINE I., Empress of Russia and wife of Peter the Great, was a woman of humble origin, who, having become mistress to Prince Menschikoff, was relinquished by him to the Czar. In 1708 and 1709 she bore the Emperor the Princesses Anna and Elizabeth, the first of whom became the Duchess of Holstein by marriage, and mother of Peter III. The second became Empress of Russia. In 1711 the Emperor pub- licly acknowledged Catharine as his wife, and she was subsequently pro- claimed empress, and crowned in Mos- cow in 1724. When Peter with his army seemed irreparably lost on the Pruth in 1711 Catharine secured the relief of her husband by bribing the Turkish general. At Peter's death in 1725 Catharine was proclaimed Empress and autocrat of all the Russias, and the oath of allegiance to her was taken anew. Catharine died suddenly in 1727, her death having been hastened by dissipation. CATHARINE II., Empress of Russia, was born in 1729, her father being Christian Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-
