Etna villages

The villages of Etna are interesting point about history and culture, but the most fascinate thing they hide is the life near the treat of the largest european volcano.

1-Maniace, a beautiful village where you can admire Catsle of admiral Nelson and the English cemetery

2-Sant’Alfio

This small village is between Linguaglossa and Zafferana Etnea.

Magic atmosphere when in winter it covered by fog.

The most famous attraction known all over the world is the tree Castagno dei cento cavalli
(chestnut tree of one hundred horses), wich its age is around 3600-4000 years.

3-Nicolosi

This is a village on the southern part of Etna at 720 m sl. It is famous for its ski resort of Rifugio Sapienza (at 1950 m sl), the more attended by foreign tourists.

The village is full of restaurant and pubs, and this make of Nicolosi an important point of attraction for Catania province night-life.
On summer it becomes an important resort, and this demonstrate that Nicolosi offer interesting thing all over the year.

One of the more interesting attractions is the ice rink situated in the middle of the central square.

You can climb Etna by your bike from Nicolosi to reach Rifugio Sapienza.

The slope will be very hard, because will start from an altitude of 720 m to arrive at 1950 m. But the landscape you will admire worthyour fatigue.

4-Randazzo

A medieval village at 765 m sl.

World War II.

In the 1943 German military chose Randazzo as their headquarter. This caused the bombardment by american military to hit german troops.
After the war Randazzo received the Silver Medal for rejection during german dominance.

What to see:

-Ancient wall of the village
-S. Maria, S. Nicola and S. Martino churches, containing objects of medieval art.
-Real Palace, seat of many important historic people

Grotta de gelo:

It is a freezing cold grotto with perennial ice. It altitude is at 2030 m
At 2030 m sl. Its access is more more easy in summer, becaus ein winter the snow cover the entry. Inside the temperature is always lower than -6°C.

5-Linguaglossa

A small village at 550 m sl of Catania province.

Tour bike
-From here, taking the Mareneve way, it possible reaching the summit of the crater, passing through ski resort of Piano Provenzana and the amazing Pineta Ragabo, where you can have a pic nic. You can bike inside the pineta, but it is necessary a MTB, because the road is not asphalted.

The lenght of the road that join Linguaglossa to Piana Provenzana is about 15 Km.

It is very difficult because the road is upgrade.

The height difference: 550 m of Linguaglossa, 1800 m of Piano Provenzana.

Food
-Linguaglossa is famous for its wine and sausage production

Eruption
-The last dramatic eruption is dated at 2002, when lava destroyed the ski resort of Piano Provenzana, part of Pineta Ragabo and Mareneve way.

Here you can follow the sicilian “wine road”: bike and wine tasting along the nature fo Linguaglossa
Link Wine road of Linguaglossa

6-Zafferana Etnea

An amazing village at 574 m sl.

In its municipality different type of natural landscape are visible and worth a visit, such as magic woods and lava desert

On 19 october 1984 an eartquake hit the village, causing serious damages

Every october the Ottobrata takes place: it is a town festival of typical sicilian products:
grapes, wine, mustard, honey, apples, prickly pear, pistachio, mushrooms.

Interesting to visit is the beautiful park and the modern amphitheatre

7-Acireale

A village near Catania famous for its Dome, Granita and the natural attraction of Timpa, a promontory from wich aan amazing panorama can be enjoined.

Aciscatello and Acitrezza, isola dei ciclopi, castello normanno, vita notturna LINK

8-Bronte

The village was created by emperor Carlo V on 1520

Eruptions
About its history we can remember two the eruption: that one of 1651, and the most dramatic of 1843, when 59 persons died beacuse the invasion of the lava in a water tank.

History
A historic person linked at Bronte history is the british admiral Horatio Nelson, duke of Bronte and possessor of Castle Santa Maria church near Maniace, a village neighboring with Bronte.

On the 8 august 1860 an important historic event is known as Rivolta di Bronte (Bronte revolution): the peasantry revolted occupying owner’s estates.

An important historic attraction is Bronte castle dated at 1174.

Food
Bronte is famous for Pistacchio production, that you can taste with pasta or in the sicilian pastries such as cannoli.