Vulcanic Free Tour: Catania and the lava of Etna

Attention! This is a different tour from conventional ones, linked to mass tourism. This tour will allow us to discover the strength of Etna within an urban circuit, crossing the historic center of Catania from another point of view! Your Nature and Hiking Guide Mirco will be happy to make you this tour!

At the indicated time we'll meet in front of the Church of San Nicolò, from where we'll start a tour with Mount Etna as main character. We'll remember its eruptions and see the repercussions they had on the city of Catania.

First of all, we'll enter the courtyard of the Benedictine monastery of Catania, included in Unesco Heritage. This historic site was one of the first to be damaged by the eruption of 1669, which left important remains that can still be seen today, such as huge blocks of lava several metres high.

We'll continue our tour descending towards the Baths of the Rotonda and the Roman theatre while I tell you the history of the Amenano River. Nowadays, this riverbed is largely underground, and I'll tell you why!

From this point, crossing the streets of night life, full of bars and nice pubs, we'll head towards the Castello Ursino, a fortress that was almost completely surrounded by the 1669 lava flow. There, we'll discover how this impressive natural phenomenon left its mark on the architecture of the city.

If you book the tour in the morning, we'll arrive at the A putia dell'Ostello hostel, where I show you a hidden jewel inside its small bar. If you take the tour in the afternoon, I'll take you to the Gammazita Well, linked to the eruption of 1669 with an interesting legend that we'll tell you during the activity.

We'll finish this tour of the Etna eruption in Catania at the bar of the hostel after 2 hours.