In his nearly eighty years of life, Dominique Vivant Denon was a man accustomed to beauty and grandeur. A diplomat, writer, and engraver, he became the first director of the Louvre. And yet even he, before Etna, had to yield to the obvious: “All that nature has of grandeur, all that is pleasing, all that is terrible, can be compared to Etna, and Etna cannot be compared to anything,” he wrote in his Voyage in Sicily, in 1785.
And here is Etna, a giant in perpetual motion, a volcano capable of transforming the surrounding landscape in a matter of days, with a threatening reach always present and, at the same time, a rare beauty. The symbol of Eastern Sicily is threaded with trails that pass through forests of laricio pine, swaths of solidified lava, underground caves, and now-extinct craters. Each season carries its own magic, but summer stands out among them as a particularly special moment when the volcano can shine against the powerful blue of the Trinacria’s clear skies.
The Etna Park: How to Reach It
The Etna Park, established in 1987 by the will of the Sicilian Region, stretches along the island’s eastern coast, within the territory of the Metropolitan City of Catania. Encompassing roughly 58,000 hectares in total and with a base perimeter of about 135 kilometers, it ranks among Italy’s largest regional parks.
The volcano, at the heart of the park, now reaches 3,329 meters in height. The figure is dynamic, as height can change over time due to eruptions that alter the summit cone. Twenty municipalities lie within the protected area, from Randazzo to Zafferana Etnea, from Bronte to Linguaglossa, with a resident population of about 250,000 people living up to an altitude of 950 meters.
The city of Catania is usually the base from which to explore Etna Park. Here lies the nearest airport, Catania Fontanarossa. From Catania you reach Rifugio Sapienza, on the volcano’s southern flank, a base for many excursions, in about an hour and a half by car, along the road that climbs from Nicolosi. The northern flank, with its base at Piano Provenzana, is reached from Linguaglossa, about two hours from Catania. For those without private transport, a bus service operated by AST runs from the city to Rifugio Sapienza, even in summer.
Etna, World Heritage Site
On 21 June 2013, during the 37th session of the UNESCO Committee gathered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Etna was inscribed on the World Heritage List.
The recognized site encompasses more than 19,000 hectares of Zone A of the Park, corresponding to the volcano’s highest portion, the part without permanent settlements. UNESCO’s criterion for including Etna on the list is the one reserved for places that represent extraordinary examples of geological processes and natural formations of exceptional value. Etna, the commission notes, is one of the most iconic and active volcanoes in the world, with a continuous documentary record of eruptive activity dating back at least 2,700 years.
Some statistics help explain why Etna is so important and unique: it is the tallest active volcano in Europe and the largest basaltic composite volcano on the Eurasian plate. Its present structure stems from a long, complex eruptive history that goes back more than half a million years, with alternating effusive and explosive eruptions that have shaped the landscape and created singular geological environments.
Among these, the Valle del Bove stands out—a gigantic depression on the eastern flank, walls rising up to 1,000 meters: the remnant of the primordial volcano Trifoglietto, which collapsed tens of thousands of years ago.
Beyond this, Etna Park safeguards a remarkable biodiversity. In the wooded areas, extending up to about 2,000 meters, live oak forests, chestnut groves, and the Etna birch (Betula aetnensis), an endemic species that grows only on the slopes of this volcano. As you ascend, vegetation becomes sparser, almost absent, except for a few rare species that have adapted to the lava soils and the almost lunar terrain of the higher zones. Regarding fauna, the park is home to the wildcat, the marten, the porcupine, and the fox, as well as the peregrine falcon and the golden eagle.
Trekking: The Finest Hikes in Etna Park
The hiking offerings of Etna Park are extraordinarily varied, suitable for all levels of fitness and all types of exploration ambitions.
However, there is a fundamental rule to know: beyond 2,750 meters in altitude, access is allowed only in the company of an authorized guide. A necessary safety rule, not a restriction: the volcano is active and conditions can change rapidly.
A very simple walk, suitable for families with small children, is the trek to the Silvestri Craters. Located on the southern flank, a short distance from Rifugio Sapienza, these two volcanic cones formed during the eruption of 1892, which lasted six months. The trail is short, about one and a half kilometers, with minimal elevation gain and an easy surface. From the route, on clear days, the view extends to the Gulf of Catania and the Ionian Sea.
For a level slightly more demanding but still within reach for most, the recommended path is the panoramic trail called Schiena dell’Asino, one of the most beautiful on the southern flank. It follows the 737 path starting from the edge of the Valle del Bove. The route then climbs, offering views of a barren lava landscape, characterized by grey-black sand. The path rises quite steeply to the summit of La Montagnola at 2,648 meters above sea level: a vast crater created in 1763, from which you can enjoy a magnificent view. The 737 itinerary is 2.5 kilometers one-way with an elevation gain of nearly 600 meters, though you might need to add an approach segment.
For the bold, there is hiking to the Summit Craters of the volcano, an excursion to be undertaken with one of the numerous guided services. Usually, hiking begins from around 2,900 meters, reached by a combination of cable car and off-road transport. From there you actually reach the craters, which lie about 400 meters higher.
The walking route, always with a guide, lasts between five and six hours and offers views that on the clearest days embrace both the Ionian Sea to the east and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, as well as Calabria, the Aeolian Islands, and the entire coastline of eastern Sicily.
For the more seasoned and experienced hikers, the ultimate challenge is the so-called Traversata dell’Etna, a crossing from the south to the north flank. It is considered the most complete and spectacular hike on the entire volcano, spanning about 14 kilometers, almost entirely at high altitude and thus doubly demanding. Again, a guide is required. In any case, it is an adventure that traverses both sides of Etna, from north to south, passing the roof of Southern Europe, to recall Denon’s words once again: everything can be compared to Etna, and Etna cannot be compared to anything.
