Catania - Etna

• 
  Taormina of Duomo
• 
  Etna dall'alto
• 
  Catania area with fantastic views of Mount Etna in the background
• 
  The famous volcano etna
• 
  The best tour of Taormina
• 
  Taormina excursions
• 
  Taormina mosaic art
• 
  Taormina folk
• 
  Taormina shopping
• 
  Taormina castle
• 
  Taormina Isola Bella
• 
  Taormina see beach
• 
  sicily castelmola
• 
  Castelmola,caffè torrisi
• 
  taormina,caffè torrisi

Catania fischen market and Etna Vulcan tour.

I recommend a walking tour with our guide to see square with the Duomo and the Fish Market, unique and very folkloric. Catania has had a long and eventful history, having been founded in the 8th century BC. In the 14th century and the Renaissance, Catania was one of Italy's most important and flourishing cultural, artistic and political centres,including having witnessed the opening in 1434 of the first university in Sicily. Today, Catania is one of the main economic, touristic and educational centres in the island, being an important hub of the technological industry, thus gaining the nickname of the "European Silicon Valley". Piazza Duomo is a good place to start your whistle stop tour of Catania. The cathedral overlooking the square may be magnificent, but it is not photographed as much as ‘U Liotru’, a slightly incongruous statue of an elephant carrying an obelisk, which stands at the piazza's center. The monument was constructed in 1735 by the sculptor Giovanni Battista Vaccarini, using black volcanic basalt for the elephant, and marble for the obelisk. Many think the origins of the city’s emblem lie in the 3 foot high Mediterranean pygmy elephant that used to inhabit Sicily in prehistoric times. Via Etnea is Catania’s most celebrated street. It’s lined a by series of historic baroque buildings, many which today house interesting stores, boutiques, and snack bars. Stop at an ice-cream parlour for a taste of Sicily’s granita, a mouth-watering crushed ice dessert. Also take a short detour at Piazza Stesicoro to see the remains of a Greek amphitheatre, hemmed in between two streets. Continuing along Via Etnea for about ¾ of a mile north of Piazza Duomo takes you to the main entrance to Villa Bellini, one of the most beautiful public gardens in Europe. See tall trees, verdant plants and colorful flowers in a landscape of bridges, borders, statues and fountains. The best way to understand the importance of seafood on the Sicilian table is to visit the fish market in Catania, which is as old as the ancient city itself. I watched it come to life one morning as workers unloaded their catches onto tables full of ice. There were heaps of gyrating octopuses, buckets full of snails and tiny clams, beautiful arrangements of eels and rays and any other form of sea life imaginable. The fish came from Mazara del Vallo, Italy's largest fishing port, in southwest Sicily, as well as smaller ports famed for specific things: anchovies from Sciacca, swordfish from Favignana. Teenage boys carried espressos in tiny plastic cups from nearby bars to the fishmongers, who—arms flailing and voices raised—were negotiating with housewives and wholesalers and chefs.

Etna Vulcan, is full of small calderas. The most famous one, which is goal of interesting excursions, is the Valle del Bove (Valley of the Oxen). It is a horseshoe-shape caldera with an area long 8 km and wide 5 km. The Valle del Bove is theatre of frequent and spectacular eruptions visible from the southern east part of the Catania province. After we go with our driver to visit the highest active volcan in Europe, the Etna volcano at Mt. 3300- Private tour and  excursions typically involve taking a 30 mile winding bus ride to Rifugio Sapienza, on the northern side of the peak. Various expeditions are available from the refuge, including a hike around the impressive Silvestri craters.

This is a review of our customers who visited the volcano Etna:
Visiting Sicily, a visit to Mount Etna is a must. It 's very charming and arrived at the top seems to be on another planet. The black color of the ash with the blue sky forming an incredible contrast and complete the visit a wonderful view from 3000 meters high. For the visit, we got the ticket "package" of Etna cable car. Arrived at the refuge wisdom, we took the cable car that took us to about 2500 meters after which we continued to get to 3000 meters in height with the special vans equipped for the volcanic soil. Once at the shelter "tower of the philosopher" with a guide we did a hike along the edge of some craters. A very nice tour that I recommend to everyone ....