was the first Park established in Sicily in 1987. Etna is not only the highest active volcano in Europe, but also a mountain with recent lava flows where no form of life has settled yet and very ancient lava flows housing natural fomations of Austrian pines, beech trees, and birches. The Park extends from the summit of the volcano to the towns surrounding it, and has been divided into four areas with different levels of protection: A, B, C and D zones. It comproses the following municipalities: Adrano, Belpasso, Biancavilla, Bronte, Castiglione di Sicilia, Giarre, Linguaglossa, Maletto, Mascali, Milo, Nicolosi, Pedara, Piedimonte Etneo, Ragalna, Randazzo, Sant'Alfio, Santa Maria di Licodia, Trecastagni, Viagrande, Zafferana Etnea. In the "A" area (19.000 ha) almost all is public property, there are no human settlements. It is the area of the big uncontaminated spaces, the realm of big birds like the Golden Eagle. The "B" area (26.000 ha) is partly formed by small private agricultural lots and rural houses, shelters for animals, palm groves, and some noble houses. Besides the "A" and "B" Park areas, there is a pre-Park area in the "C" and "D" areas (14.000 ha), here you can find tourist facilities in the respect of landscape and nature. Right on the top of Etna, among the oak woods and the ferns, there are extraordinary forms of life that feed on what manages to grow along the slopes. Here you still meet the wild cats, foxes, the porcupine, the weasel, the dormouse, even though the true king of these places is the superb golden eagle. A lot of other birds live here, from the peregrine falcon to the owl and so on.
Nature
The Alcantara Park
Etna
Points of interest
Activities