Page 174 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sicily

172  SICIL Y AREA B Y AREA

8 Mascalucia
Road map E3. * 24,500. @ AST
from Catania (095-7461 096). n Pro
Loco, Via Calvario 5 (095-727 77 90).
On the eastern slopes of the
volcano, just above Catania,
to which it is connected by
an uninterrupted series of
villages and hamlets, is
Mascalucia, a town of largish
houses and villas. It is worth
stopping here to visit the
Giardino Lavico at the
Azienda Trinità farmstead, a
small “oasis” surrounded by
modern building development
on the slopes of Etna. The
“lava garden” consists of an
organically cultivated citrus
grove, a 17th-century house
and a garden filled with
prickly pears, yuccas and other The castle at Aci Castello, destroyed by Frederick II of Aragon
plants that thrive in the lava
soil. The orchard’s irrigation of a basalt rock jutting into the 0 Aci Trezza
canals were inspired by Arab sea. It was built in 1076 from Road map F3. _ 24 Jun: San
gardens. For helicopter trips black lava and in 1299 was the Giovanni Battista.
over Mount Etna, make base for the rebel Roger of
inquiries at the Azienda. Luria. The castle was This picturesque fishing
subsequently destroyed by village, part of Aci Castello,
O Giardino Lavico Frederick II of Aragón (see p33) was the setting for Giovanni
Azienda Agricola Trinità, Via Trinità 34. after a long siege. Some rooms Verga’s novel I Malavoglia
Tel 095-727 21 56. 8 by appt. in the surviving parts are and for Luchino Visconti’s film
occupied by the Museo Civico, adaptation, La Terra Trema
with archaeological and (see p26 and p28). The small
9 Aci Castello natural history collections harbour faces a pile of basalt
relating to the Etna region rocks, the Isole dei Ciclopi,
Road map F3. * 18,000. n Corso
Italia 302 (095-711 67 15). @ AST (temporarily closed). There is now a nature reserve. On
(095-746 10 96 or 840-000 323). also a small Botanical Garden. the largest island there is a
_ Festa di San Mauro (15 Jan). The town, with straight streets biology and oceanography
and low-rise houses, marks the station. According to Homer,
The name of this fishermen’s beginning of the Riviera dei Polyphemus hurled the rocks
village, a few kilometres from Ciclopi: according to Greek at the sea in an attempt to
Catania, derives from the mythology, Polyphemus and strike the fleeing Ulysses,
Norman castle built on the top his friends lived on Etna. who had blinded him.

Baroque detail,
Acireale

The Aci Trezza stacks, hurled by Polyphemus at Ulysses, according to Greek myth
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp204–5 and pp216–17

172-173_EW_Sicily.indd 172 11/3/16 2:10 PM
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.6)
Date 12th July 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm