around the etna mountain

Nicolosi

Nicolosi is a small village on the South of the Etna mountain.

The village was born around a monastery dedicated to San Nicolò and flourished around the monastery, thanks to the wealth and prestige of the monks. But due to the danger of the Etna, that repeatedly destroyed or threatened the village, the monks left the monastery to found the famous monastery of Cappuccini in Catania.

The city was completely destroyed by the eruption of 1669, but rebuilt on the same place.

Today it is famous for its proximity to the mountain and to the Rifugio Sapienza.

Linguaglossa

Linguaglossa literally means Tongue Tongue, from Lingua (latin for Tongue) and Glossa (Greek for Tongue).

It is a small town on the north-east of the Etna mountain and its territory reaches the top of the volcano. Linguaglossa is essentially a farmers' village that, even though it has not played a big role during the big historical events of the island, has been known for centuries for its wine production, chestnuts and natural resin extracted from the pine trees of the forest nearby.

According to the legend, it was founded in the 12th century on top of 7 different lava flows and due to its vicinity to the volcano, it has often been threatened and also sometimes partly touched by the lava.

Typical from Linguaglossa is the floor of the streets, made with the lava stone, a feature that can be seen in many towns around the Etna.

Nowadays, next to the wine production, Linguaglossa has become the starting point for the visits of the Etna mountain from the Northern side, and especially for the lovers of ski.

Castiglione di Sicilia

Castiglione di Sicilia is a little village on the north side of the Etna mountain. Its name comes from a short version of Castel Leone (Lion Castle) and it has very ancient origins. Due to its position between the mountain and the valley of the Alcantara river, it has played a very strategic role already during the Greek arrival in the island, who occupied the lands of Castiglione, taking it from the local population, after setting their ships in Naxos, next to Taormina. During the century it has always been a strategic military outpost, as can be seen by the castle and other military structures in the village from the medieval time.

Within its territory, but out of the city, there is the so called Cuba of Santa Domenica, a very big Norman church built in the style of the other famous Cubas in Palermo. Unfortunately all the frescos and mosaics inside have been lost.

Today the village, apart from the wine production, is famous for its castle and the vicinity to the Alcantara river, that makes it a very good spot for tourists.

Paternò

A medium sized city on the west of Catania (45k inhabitants).

The oldest part of the city is on a hill that was a prehistorical volcano. Today the historical hill is less inhabited.

The city, that now has many economical problems, has been part of the historical events of Sicily since the ancient Greek time, and all the populations that occupied Sicily also ruled this town.

Interesting sights to see are: the Norman Castle (one of the biggest of its type in Sicily, great view from its terrace), The church of Saint Barbara (baroque style, unique for its type, magnificent dome), Monastero della Santissima Annunziata (red stone and white marble building, romanic style with bell tower). Several palaces that belonged to noble and rich families, and that today belong to the city, like the Palazzo Moncada or Palazzo Alessi (where there is the city hall).

Outside of the city, worth a visit could be the "salinelle", small mud volcanoes, unique for their type and linked to the Etna mountain. The Romans used them as spa and later on the mud was also used for medical reasons.

The city is famous for the bloody orange, called sanguinella. In the 70s the biggest citrus farm of the world was in Paternò.

Adrano

The biggest town inside the Etna Natural Park, with its territory reaching until the top of the volcano.

Adrano was established by the ancient Greeks from Siracusa. The Greek past is very visible in the city, especially in the archeological site with some of the ruins of the old Greek city, only partly discovered. The Greek city in Adrano is potentially one of the best preserved ones (like Pompei), but it has not been dug yet.

The city has followed the historical events and the conquerors of Sicily.

Apart from the many churches, an important site is the Normal Castle, and of course the archeological sites.

Also Adrano is famous for the bloody orange, the type called "tarocco".

Another important product is the Pistachio. It is the only town together with Bronte where the pistachio is produced.

Bronte

The town is placed on the western side of the Etna mountain and is extremely famous for the production of Pistachio.

Bronte was founded only in the XVI century, especially after some refugees from Albania were permitted to stay in those lands together with the local inhabitants.

The city has been destroyed once by the the Etna and during other two eruptions in the XIX century some people have been killed by the vulcano.

Two sightseeing places are the Nelson Castle, once belonging to the Admiral Horatio Nelson (duke of Bronte) and the Collegio Capizzi. Many churches can also be visited in the town, but its main sightseeing point is probably the Etna mountain itself. From Bronte is possible to access some hiking trails: by car you can reach the Rifugio Piano dei Grilli and from there go on by foot.

Next to Bronte there is a little town called Maletto, famous for the strawberries, to which a festival is dedicated in June. Maletto is also famous for the so called Favare di Maletto, pools of water in a beautiful landscape under the mountain.

Randazzo

The town is in the northern side of the Etna and like all other towns its territory reaches the top of the mountain. The towns around the Etna mountain have the unique peculiarity in Italy to have all 10 one point in common, that is the top of the volcano.

Randazzo has been inhabited by all the populations that have lived and occupied Sicily, starting from the greeks and the romans. Even though is the city closest to the main crater of the volcano, it has never been destroyed by it and so it has been able to keep its original medieval look, with its medieval buildings made of black vulcanic stone.

To see in the town are the Royal Palace, the Castello Svevo and the museum of the Opera dei Pupi (Sicilian puppets).

Giarre

The second last stop of the railway, it is a big town on the north-east side of the Etna. It is the best point to view the Valle del Bove, the valley where most of the eruption of the eastern side of the mountain end up. The city has never been hit bu the volcano, due to its distance.

The city has very ancient origins, since the greek times. After the earthquake of the 1693 (that destroyed many town of the Noto Valley) the main route that connected Messina and Catania was moved towards Bronte, helping the growth of the town.

Main sight to visit is the big Duomo.

Apart from the typical sicilian cuisine, the city is famous for a drink called Dog's Hearth (Cori i cani), which is made of water and lemon granita.

Riposto

A small town connected to Giarre and direct at the sea, it's been historically famous for its port. All the agricultural production of the area around the Etna mountain, specially wine, was usually stored in Riposto and from there shipped all around Europe. For this reason many European countries even had consular offices in Riposto. The city was also a big target of the pirates. After the first world war its wealth and business have been strongly reduced.

Sight to see is the Duomo dedicated to saint Peter and remembering the roman church of San Giovanni Laterano.

Mascali

A special mention to Mascali, another town in the Etna area, right next to Giarre. The city is famous also because in 1928 a new eruption started at only 1150 meters and completely destroyed the town. Mascali was then re-built from scratch during the fascism period closer to the sea.

Inside the territory of Mascali lives one of the oldest tree in Europe, the so called Castagno della Nave (2-4000 years old). Probably the second oldest tree in Europe after another tree also inside the Etna Natural Park, the Castagno dei Cento Cavalli in the territory of Sant'Alfio, right next to Mascali.