{"id":68504,"date":"2015-01-16T11:12:24","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T10:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/?p=68504"},"modified":"2026-10-14T11:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T10:08:10","slug":"nicolosi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/en\/nicolosi","title":{"rendered":"Nicolosi"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few kilometres from the craters of Etna<\/a><\/strong>, Nicolosi<\/strong> is one of the main towns of the volcano park, with around 7000 inhabitants, well equipped with tourist infrastructure, including hotels and guest rooms. Considered the “gateway to Etna”, the town lies on the southern slope of the volcano, and on the road leading to the Sapienza Refuge.<\/p>\n

Historical elements and eruptions<\/h2>\n

The origin of Nicolosi can be traced to the 14th century with the construction of the Benedictine monastery of San Nicol\u00f2 l’Arena<\/strong>, around which the town developed.
The town experienced several eruptions, including that of 1669 when the lava flows descending from the Monti Rossi buried a large part of the city.
The first refuge was built at the beginning of the 19th century at an altitude of 2942 metres. In 1886, the town narrowly escaped another major eruption. The economy of Nicolosi revolves around agriculture, agri-food, and tourism in both summer and winter.<\/p>\n

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Heritage of Nicolosi<\/h2>\n

To the north of the town, one can visit the former monastery of San Nicolo l’Arena<\/strong>, recently restored, part of which now houses the headquarters of the Etna park<\/strong>. The latter hosts exhibitions devoted to the volcano, as well as an interesting garden.
In the town centre, one can discover the volcanological museum<\/strong> dedicated to Etna, or the Chiesa Madre<\/strong> from the 17th century and the Madona del Carmelo.
At the north-western exit of Nicolosi, the Monti Rossi<\/strong> (Red Mounts<\/em> in English) are the craters that formed during the eruption of 1669, whose lava flows ended in the sea, destroying part of Catania.<\/p>\n

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