Nicolosi is Etna's southern gate: from here the road climbs to the Sapienza refuge and the cable car toward the summit craters of Europe's highest active volcano, a UNESCO site. The Monti Rossi, twin cones born of the 1669 eruption that reached Catania, stand as a memento at the town's edge — today climbed on a stroll among broom flowers.
The name comes from the monks of San Nicolò l'Arena, who had their first monastery here. In winter you ski overlooking the sea; in summer, lava flows and caves are explored with guides. In the evening, Etna mushrooms and wines in the village trattorias.
Near Nicolosi
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
