Etna and surroundings
The highest volcano in Europe, active volcano with periodic eruptive
manifestations and spectacular events, is a goal and a strong motivation
for tourists visiting Sicily. In fact, the flow of tourists who climb up
to the Summit craters is almost uninterrupted for the entire time that
nature allows.
There are two access roads for the car up to an altitude of 1800
m.a.s.l. on the north side and another one on the South side. They show
two different pictures of the mountain. From there, on the South side,
for a fee of € 62,00,
you can proceed with the cable car up to 2500
m.a.s.l. and then with the mountain bus up to 2900 m.a.s.l., up to two
craters of the eruption of 2002, the year that saw the destruction on
the opposite side, North,
of
a complex structure with tourist hotels, cable
car, shopping area and other facilities.
But Etna is much more. It's a tale that begins half a million years ago
in an extended area which saw the formation of the volcano and its move
to a distance of thirty kilometres, with an alternate activity and
catastrophic events, that have left visible marks in the physical
conformation of the great mountain.
Etna is a long written history beginning with the verses of Pindar in
the early fifth century BC and up to the nowadays statistic reports.
Etna is a central character in Greek mythology who stays at the
foundation of European civilization.