8 Best Sights in Mount Etna, Sicily

At the oldest winery on Etna, the expansive terrace shaded by oak trees looks out over vineyards and down to the sea. The staff offers friendly and informative tours (with excellent English) followed by a tasting of five wines with food pairings or a more formal lunch. Reservations are required. There are also four charming guest rooms overlooking the vineyards for overnight stays (minimum two nights).

At the foot of Monte Serra in Viagrande, this family-run winery is one of the most internationally significant on Etna, distributing some 170,000 bottles worldwide. And the Benanti family has been instrumental in propagating the viticulture of the volcano. As you arrive at the 19th-century estate for a tasting, you'll easily be seduced by the historic grounds and hills flanked with vines. But their wines, approximately 15 different expressions of Etna, hold the real magic.

For a walk on the moonlike surface of Etna, visit the Silvestri craters on the southern side of the volcano, near Nicolosi. Located at an altitude of roughly 6,200 feet, these five extinct craters formed during the 1892 eruption. Just a few meters away, across from Rifugio Sapienza, you'll find the Funivia dell'Etna (€50 round-trip), a cable car that carries you 8,000 feet up to Monte Montagnola, where you can hike further with a guide or go skiing in winter. 

Affectionally called Idda (or "she" in Sicilian dialect), Etna is basically always active, and occasionally there are airspace closures due to the spewing ash. But for the locals who live in her shadow, Etna is not some ever-present doomsday reminder. She's a living part of the dynamic landscape, loved and revered.

In 387 BC, Plato sailed in just to catch a glimpse of it; in the 9th century AD, the first granita of all time was shaved off its snowy slopes; in 1669, it erupted continuously for four months and lava flows reached Catania; and in the 21st century, the volcano still grabs headlines on an annual basis. Significantly notable eruptions have occurred in the modern era, such as in 1971 (when lava buried the Etna Observatory), in 1981 (when the village of Randazzo narrowly missed destruction), in 2001 (when there was a large flank eruption), in 2002 (when a column of ash spewed that could be seen from space), and in 2008 (when the eruption lasted 417 days and triggered some 200 earthquakes). In February and March 2021, she erupted 11 times in a matter of three weeks, scattering windblown ash throughout the towns below, including Catania. July and August of 2024 saw major eruptions, disrupting flights at Catania airport. Traveling to the proximity of the crater depends on Mount Etna's temperament, but you can walk up and down the enormous lava dunes and wander over its moonlike surface of dead craters. The rings of vegetation change markedly as you rise, with vineyards and pine trees gradually giving way to birch forests and growths of broom and lichen.

Located between Monte Gorna and Monte Ilice, Pierluca Beneventano guides visitors up the steep slopes of his vineyard for a tasting (featuring red, white, and rosé) among the vines. From there, you can see the other ancient craters of the southeast and all the way down to the Ionian Sea. In addition to traditional Etna grapes, Pierluca is working to recultivate grape relics, varieties that were historically found on Etna, such as Moscatella dell’Etna, Muscatetuni, and Terribbile. Young and endlessly energetic, he’s embracing the wine-making traditions of the volcano while forging his own path. Keep an eye on his Nubivago wine, a white made with Carricante, Catarratto, and Moscatella dell’Etna in which he freezes the grapes before pressing them. Reservations are required.

The name translates literally as "the custodians of the vineyards of Etna," and Mario Paoluzi and his team take their roles as guardians quite seriously. From the low-intervention management of one of the oldest producing vineyards on Etna to the use of the alberello trellis system, this winery specializes in producing elegant expressions of Etna wines that pay homage to the history and culture of the area.

Salvo Foti, the patriarch of this family-run winery, has been called the most important Sicilian agronomist and winemaker. In fact, his work cultivating native grapes is part of the reason Americans have even heard of Nerello Mascalese or Carricante. His conscientious methods, which honor both the land and cultural traditions of Etna, have been passed on to his two sons (Simone and Andrea) who now manage the winery and lead tastings in the historic Palmento Caselle (c. 1840). In the fall, they still use the palmento to stomp grapes and press wine the way it was done centuries ago on Etna.

This winery, in the shadow of San Nicolò, takes a decidedly biological approach to grape growing. Olive and fruit trees (kiwi, lemon, and orange) abound, and they alternate row crops between the vines to enrich the soil. Inside the winery and tasting room, you can see the stratification of Etna’s lava, with flows from 50,000 years ago and 3,000 years ago, and where plant roots continue growing down into the stone. In the old palmento, you can book a private wine-making experience with barefoot grape stomping and all.