{"id":68362,"date":"2015-10-01T14:28:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T13:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/?p=68362"},"modified":"2026-10-14T08:18:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T07:18:45","slug":"riviera-of-the-cyclops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/en\/riviera-of-the-cyclops","title":{"rendered":"Riviera of the Cyclops"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Along the coast north of Catania, the “Riviera dei Ciclopi<\/strong>” (Riviera dei Ciclopi<\/em> in Italian) stretches for about 12 kilometers<\/strong> between Aci Castello<\/strong> and Aci Trezza<\/strong>, extending north to Acireale<\/strong>. This stretch of coastline combines landscapes shaped by the volcanic activity of Etna, with basaltic promontories, lava cliffs, pebble or volcanic rock beaches, and coves where underwater visibility is excellent.
The coastline has a wild beauty, but the infrastructure (coastal roads, parking) sometimes struggles to absorb traffic during the high season, which can make journeys slow.<\/p>\n

The Riviera dei Ciclopi: between myth and geology<\/h2>\n

The Riviera dei Ciclopi<\/strong>, on the eastern coast of Sicily between Catania<\/strong> and Acireale<\/strong>, combines geology and mythology of the Mediterranean world. Its landscape was born from the thousand-year activity of Etna<\/strong>, where successive lava flows, sometimes submerged, formed basaltic promontories, islets and characteristic dark cliffs. 
According to Homeric tradition, this is where the cyclops Polyphemus<\/strong> is said to have lived, son of Poseidon and the nymph Thoosa, who hurled enormous volcanic rocks at Ulysses. These blocks are still visible off the coast of Aci Trezza<\/strong> in the form of the faraglioni<\/em> and the island of Lachea<\/strong>.
The terrain of the Riviera is made up of ancient lava layers and pyroclastic deposits from eruptive phases of Etna since the Pleistocene, covered by later marine formations.<\/p>\n\n\n