“Going to Sicily is better than going to the moon”, said Gabriel García Márquez.

In Sicily the lunar landscape is Mount Etna, the “mungibeddu”, the highest active volcano in Europe, called by Sicilian people “a muntagna”. It is almost a lighthouse in the center of Sicily; it protects Catania city; it is visible from Syracuse, astonishing city and it shows up above the horizon saying “hello” to Enna, midpoint of Sicily. Mount Etna is a separated world, it shows a face of a different Sicily that it is not only beaches and crystal sea. In winter Etna black ground meets a white magic snow and everything looks amazing! In spring it is time for a bit of yellow thanks to broom Blossom.

Etna Natural Park born in 1987, it is the first Sicilian Park. It is one of the few only active volcano in the world and you can visit it. On Mount Etna you can also find the “Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica”, since 2013 UNESCO included this wonderful volcano and its land in the List of World Heritage Sites that represent 500.000 years of history. Visiting Mount Etna is a trip in the trip, a magical landscape that fascinated intellectuals people who work in the film industry and in particular Pier Paolo Pasolini, who set many scenes of his movies like: “Vangelo secondo Matteo”, “Porcile”, “Teorema” and “I racconti di Canterbury”.

Discover Mount Etna choosing among the numerous tours and excursions that we offer for you: “Etna Tour Morning & Sunset “ with departures in the morning or a wonderful sunset in the afternoon, “Etna Full Day” is a mix between nature and typical food, exploring a lava cave and after you have the opportunity to have a lunch with a typical Sicilian food. Tourist Sicily have for you many tours: from “Etna Wine-Tasting” to “Etna Trekking” for the lovers of walks in contact with nature. If you don’t find the right tour, Tourist Sicily will plan it for you according to your needs.

Choose the date and the place and our staff will plan for you an unforgettable Etna excursion. Our Etna tours include a direct pick up from your hotel.

For information contact: +39 0950931096/+39 3755663402, write us at info@touristsicily.it or visit us at our Info point in Via Montesano 21 – Catania

Do you have only a few minutes to visit Catania, a fantastic city with an historical past? Don’t worry, with a good planning and the precious advices of Tourist Sicily, also with a few time you can discover some of the most characteristic places of Catania. We advise you to enter the city of Catania city leaving behind us “Archi della Marina” and crossing “Porta Uzeda”, it receive you within the sixteenth century walls of the city, it will be like a dance hall in a fantastic baroque palace. It will open in front of you “Via Etnea”, a sort of “spaccanapoli” of Catania, where the tourist looks toward Mount Etna, a majestic volcano as it stands out against  the horizon from the main street of the city.

Crossing “Porta Uzeda”, you will be in “Piazza Duomo”, here there is a mix between sacred and profane, with a fantastic baroque cathedral dedicated to “S. Agata”, saint patron of Catania, and “u liotru”, the black elephant symbol of the city. Nearby, in “Via Vittorio Emanuele II” it is situated the “Chiesa della Badia di Sant’Agata”, one of  the most important monument of baroque, by Giovanni Battista Vaccarini, where from its dome you can admire the fantastic view of the city, especially during the twilight when the colours of sun create fascinated landscape. From this square we also can visit the “Catania Fish Market”, one of the most famous fish market of Italy and it is always a must to visit. Every day it seems like a sort of rhythmic show where colours, gestures and sounds, the “vuciate”, in the Sicilian markets they remembered the Islamic suq. Visiting the market, after being refreshed with “seltz” with salt and lemon or refreshed with a coffee or a typical “granita” let’s walk to Catania. A few steps from here, there is another symbol of the city: “Piazza Teatro Massimo” with its “Teatro Massimo Bellini” and the “Museo Belliniano”, a must stop for all melomaniacs. A few steps and we arrive in “Via Etnea”, the main shopping street of Catania that across “Piazza Università” and “Piazza Stesicoro”; not far from here there is “Piazza Carlo Alberto” with “a fera o luni” it is the great market that every morning animates the square. Following the main street of the city we arrive at “Villa Bellini”, where we can take a break, enjoying with an “arancino” or a “cipollina”, typical examples of catanese street food, in the shade of plants and then restart for discovering the baroque of street, “Via Crociferi”, with its churches and “Villa Cerami”, now seat of the University of Law, which across the famous “acchianata” of “San Giuliano”, where the devotees imposing the “vara” of “S. Agata”, during the celebrations in February. Last step about your visit in Catania is the “Monastero dei Benedettini”, today seat of the University of Letters, it is a late-baroque jewel in the city center, it remains of a Roman domus, a wonderful cloister and a hanging garden.

Do you want more advices for your visit to Catania or leave your luggages stored while you enjoy the city? For information contact: +39 0950931096 /+39 3755663402, write us at info@touristsicily.it or visit us at our info point in Via Montesano 21, Catania