Private tour to Europe’s tallest volcano Mount Etna and Taormina Highlights from Catania

Catania is the second-largest city in Sicily, after Palermo, and among the ten largest cities in Italy. Located on Sicily’s east coast, it faces the Ionian Sea. Catania today is the industrial, logistical, and commercial center of Sicily. Its airport, the Catania-Fontanarossa Airport, is the largest in Southern Italy. However, it is also noted for its history, culture, architecture, and gastronomy. The section of the city known as the “old town” features some of the most striking examples of baroque architecture in Italy, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Opposite the Town Hall, the street widens out into Piazza del Duomo, with the Cathedral of San Nicola. Founded by the Hohenstaufens in the 13th century and altered several times in the 15th to 17th centuries, it combines medieval and more recent features. The unplastered exterior, with its crenellations, is original, whereas the Baroque main door was added in 1636 and matches the 1635 Baroque fountain in the middle of the square. The three aisles of the basilica are separated by large pillars supporting pointed arches. The interior is decorated with a number of works dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, including the 15th-century Visitation of the Virgin Mary by Antonio Giuffrè and Madonna and Child with Saints by Antonello da Saliba, painted in 1504.

The famous Corso Umberto of Taormina, the road that crosses the whole historical center of the city and frequented by many tourists every day, is closed at the ends by two gates, Porta Catania and Porta Messina. In the middle of the street, we find the door called the Clock Tower.

The ancient theatre is without question the most important feature for sight-seers in Taormina, also because of its very fortunate natural setting, with a splendid view toward the Calabrian coast, the Ionian coast of Sicily and the spectacular cone of Etna.

In the sea below Taormina is a small rock-bound island with a nature preserve, almost connected to the mainland by a sandy beach. You can cross to walk the paths around its perimeter and enjoy the views from its terraces. All along the shore below Taormina are coves and beaches for swimming, which you can reach by paths. There is also a cable car between Taormina and the beach resort of Mazzaro, just below town. Just north of Mazzaro are more beaches at Spisone, Mazzeo, and Letojanni. You can also take a bus to the beaches.

Mount Etna on Sicily, locally called "Mongibello", is Europe's largest and most active volcano. Its frequent eruptions are often accompanied by large lava flows, but rarely pose danger to inhabited areas. Etna is one of the volcanoes with the longest historic records of eruptions, going back more than 2000 years.

The Giovannino Sapienza refuge is a former alpine refuge located at 1,910 meters above sea level on the southern slope of Etna, in the territory of the municipality of Nicolosi (CT). It is in fact the base of the ski resort of South Etna, situated at the end of the road that climbs the south-eastern slope of Etna from Catania with lifts that branch off to his side with Etna cableway. Designed during the fascist period and built after the Second World War by the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) Section of Catania, today it is used as a small hotel. He has repeatedly risked being overwhelmed by the eruptions of Etna whose lava flows have often lapped him without ever destroying him, as happened instead for the ski lifts, which were then always rebuilt.

Taormina is a hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily. It sits near Mount Etna, an active volcano with trails leading to the summit. The town is known for the Teatro Antico di Taormina, an ancient Greco-­Roman theater still used today. Near the theater, cliffs drop to the sea forming coves with sandy beaches. A narrow stretch of sand connects to Isola Bella, a tiny island and nature reserve.

Taormina The Odeon. There are no doubts as to the origins of the Odeon, or “small theatre”. It was built directly by the Romans when Taormina became a military colony in the year 21 B.C. under Caesar Augustus Octavian, the first Roman emperor. Much smaller than the other theatre, it is evidence of how important culture was to Taormina in those days. The small theatre is just behind a hill named after St. Catherine of Alexandria in Egypt, near Palazzo Corvaja. lt was found accidentally on June 5th 1892 and until that moment no one had even suspected it existed. The story of its discovery is an unusual one. A blacksmith named Antonio Bambara was digging in his land behind St. Catherine’s Church when his pick uncovered a red brick construction. A year later the real excavations began and the Odeon appeared, badly damaged in various sections.

Below the former Dominican monastery, Via Roma runs east to the municipal gardens of Villa Comunale. The gardens were created by Florence Trevelyan, an Englishwoman who planted rare species here and built the fanciful and imaginative Victorian stone follies that survive today. Its commanding position offers some excellent viewpoints, and you'll find more if you follow Via Bagnoli Croce on to the Belvedere. From here, you can return on Via Luigi Pirandello, passing below the Greek Theater, to the Porta Messina.