Sicily Etna Scenic Road (111 km)
Catania to Taormina · one way, about 111 km back to the start
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Why this ride
From Catania it runs 111 km to Taormina; allow about 1 h 32 of riding. On the way it passes Nicolosi, Rifugio Sapienza and Zafferana Etnea. The highest point is about 1,100 m. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Roadbook
- Catania
start
Catania has been knocked down and rebuilt so many times that it has made a style out of resilience. Lava from Etna overran parts of the city in 1669, and then in 1693 a devastating earthquake flattened it almost entirely. The rebuilding produced one of the most striking Baroque cities in Italy, built with dark grey lava stone set off against pale limestone, with wide straight streets designed to offer escape routes in future disasters. The centre is part of the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto World Heritage Site, and Etna looms over everything, often smoking at the end of the Via Etnea.
In the Piazza del Duomo stands the city's symbol, a lava-stone elephant carrying an Egyptian obelisk, known affectionately as u Liotru. The cathedral holds the relics of Saint Agatha, the patron saint, whose festival in early February brings huge crowds onto the streets for days. The composer Vincenzo Bellini was born here, and his name graces the opera house, a park and a pastry or two. The fish market, la Pescheria, behind the cathedral, is a riot of noise, colour and swordfish heads every morning except Sunday.
Riding in Catania itself is an exercise in assertiveness: traffic is chaotic, scooters weave in every gap, the cobbles are slippery when wet and parking is creative. But the city is a gateway to some of the best riding in Sicily. The roads up Etna, from Nicolosi to the Rifugio Sapienza or around the north side through Linguaglossa, are superb, and south towards Siracusa and the Baroque towns of Noto, Modica and Ragusa, the Iblei hills offer twisting roads and wonderful views.
Petrol, tyres and mechanics are easy to find in a city this size, and the food alone justifies an overnight stop. Locals will argue that the fried rice ball here is the masculine arancino rather than the Palermo arancina; pasta alla Norma, with aubergine and salted ricotta, is named after Bellini's opera; and summer breakfast means almond or pistachio granita with a soft brioche to dip. Keep valuables off the bike, use a guarded garage overnight, and be ready for the volcano to dust everything, including your visor, with fine black grit after an eruption.
- Nicolosi
scenic
Nicolosi is the town where Etna starts to feel real. It sits on the southern slope of the volcano at around seven hundred metres, a place of low houses built from black lava stone, steep streets and a surprising number of cafes, and it is the usual gateway for anyone heading up the mountain. Above it, the dark cones of Monti Rossi, formed in the eruption of 1669, look like two big red-brown humps against the sky. That eruption was one of the most destructive in the volcano's history, and its lava flowed down the slopes and reached the walls of Catania, leaving a landscape that still looks raw.
Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe, at a little over three thousand three hundred metres, though the exact height changes with each eruption, and the whole mountain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The soil from its ash is fertile, and on the lower slopes you find vineyards, pistachio and citrus orchards, and fields of prickly pear. The wine made here is highly regarded, and a glass of local red with a plate of pasta is a good reward after a day on the bike.
For riders, Nicolosi is the base and the starting line. The road from here to Rifugio Sapienza, the provincial road that climbs the south flank, is wide and well surfaced, with a series of bends through lava fields and pine woods. The gradient is steady, and the views of the sea and Catania open behind you as you climb. Be careful of ash and grit on the surface after eruptions, and of cold, fast-changing weather higher up. Traffic can be heavy at weekends and in summer, when buses and tour groups go up and down.
The town has everything you might need, from fuel to supermarkets, pharmacies and restaurants. Fill the tank here before the climb, as there is nothing above except the souvenir shops and cafes around the refuge. There are good bakeries too, and the Sicilian morning ritual of a brioche stuffed with granita is worth trying. Catania, about twenty kilometres south, is the nearest large city with an airport and plenty of services.
Nicolosi also has the Etna park office, where you can find maps and information on the trails, the cable car and local guides. Check conditions before going up, because the authorities close access to the upper slopes when the volcano is active, and it is worth listening to what they say.
- Rifugio Sapienza
scenic
Rifugio Sapienza is the end of the road for most visitors to Etna, and the place where the volcano turns from background into foreground. At around nineteen hundred metres on the southern flank, it is a cluster of buildings, a cable car station, souvenir stalls and bars in a landscape of black cinder and lava. The air is thin and cold, even in July, and the ground is crunchy underfoot. Nearby are the Silvestri craters, which formed in 1886 and can be walked around in a short loop, giving a close look at the colour of the rocks and the steam rising from cracks.
The road to get here is the best part. Climbing from Nicolosi, it winds up through pine and broom into barren lava flows, past old eruption fronts that cut across the slope like frozen rivers. The bends are generous, the tarmac is decent, and the views over Catania and the Ionian Sea are large and blue. The recent lava fields flank the road in places and are jet black, with little vegetation. Be aware that eruptions can cover the road with ash and fine grit, and that the surface is sometimes damaged by lava flows or frost.
The cable car runs from here to roughly twenty-five hundred metres, and from there guided tours go on to the higher craters, depending on the volcano's mood. Heights that were once reachable can be closed at short notice, so ask at the station. Wear warm clothes. The wind can be fierce, and you will notice the temperature drop at once when you get off the bike.
The bars and restaurants serve coffee, sandwiches, hot food and regional specialities, and prices are high because everything is carried up the mountain. It is worth buying a hot drink and taking it outside to look at the moonscape.
In winter, the area is a small ski resort, and the road may be closed or require chains. In summer, the weather is usually dry, but fog and thunderstorms can arrive without warning. Mornings are the best time for clear views and quiet roads.
- Zafferana Etnea
scenic
Zafferana Etnea sits on the eastern side of Etna, a town of about nine thousand people stretched along a ridge above the sea, and it has a reputation that is half sweet and half dangerous. The sweet half is honey. The slopes around the town are rich in flowering plants, from broom and wild thyme to orange blossom, and the honey made here is some of the best in Sicily, with a festival in autumn that fills the main street with stalls. The dangerous half is the volcano. In 1992 a lava flow from Etna advanced towards the town, and engineers and the army worked for months to divert it, with helicopters dropping concrete blocks and explosives breaking up the lava tubes. The flow stopped just short of the houses, and the story is still told with a mixture of pride and relief.
The ride here from the coast, or from the ring road around the volcano, is a pleasant one. The roads are narrow and winding, bordered by stone walls, citrus groves and vineyards, with the black volcanic soil showing between the rows. The surface is generally decent but varies, and some corners are tight enough to need a low gear. Etna is always there above you, usually with a thread of steam from the summit. Traffic is lighter than on the south side, and the town is much less crowded with tour groups.
Zafferana has the full range of services. There are petrol stations, supermarkets, bakeries and restaurants, and the town square is a good place for coffee and a pastry. Local specialities include almond sweets, chestnut dishes in autumn, and wines from the slopes of Etna. The nearby town of Santa Venerina is part of the same pleasant, lived-in landscape, and the coast, with its sea cliffs and fishing villages, is a short ride away.
The best months to come are late spring and early autumn, when the air is clear and warm but not hot, and the vegetation is at its most colourful. In summer the lower slopes can be very hot, and in winter the upper road can be icy or closed.
If you have time, ask for directions to the viewpoints that look into the Valle del Bove, the great crater-like depression on Etna's eastern side. It is a vast, strange place, and a reminder of the scale of what lives next door.
- Taormina
finish
Taormina clings to a terrace of Monte Tauro on the east coast of Sicily, about two hundred metres above the sea, and from almost every street you look straight out across the Ionian to the coast of Calabria. Mount Etna stands to the south, smoking above the haze, and on a clear day the whole thing looks painted. Giardini-Naxos lies below by the water, and the little hilltop village of Castelmola sits above the town, a short, tight climb of a kilometre or so that is well worth the effort for the view.
The town's centrepiece is the ancient Greek theatre, built in the third century BC and rebuilt by the Romans. It is cut into the hillside, and the stage frames Etna in a way that no designer could improve. Taormina has long been a favourite of travellers: Goethe wrote about it, D. H. Lawrence lived here for a time, and in the nineteenth century it became a fashion for northern Europeans escaping winter. Corso Umberto, the main street, is pedestrian and lined with shops, cafes and little churches, and in high season it is crowded.
That matters to a rider. Parking in the centre is tightly controlled, and large vehicles are kept out of the old town, so use a car park at the edge and walk in. The road up from the coast is a series of hairpins with sea views, and the last kilometres can be busy with coaches and taxis, so avoid mid-afternoon in July and August. Spring and autumn are the best times, with warm light and fewer people. Early evening is the moment when the sun lights Etna from the side.
For food, Sicily is rarely a disappointment. Order granita with a brioche for breakfast, arancini in the afternoon, and pasta with fresh sardines or swordfish in the evening. Cannoli is the sweet to try. Fuel is available in the lower town and on the coastal road, and the stations are easy to find. Taormina is a place to end a ride slowly, with a glass of Etna wine and a long look at the volcano.