One Night with Etna @EtnaRuralCottage

Mount Etna is full of mysteries and legends. The first Greek settlers named the volcano Aetna and thought of it as the home to Hephaestus, god of fire, who used its flames and lava to forge Zeus’s thunderbolts. Etna is described in the book of myths as “the forge of the gods”.

To the Sicilians she is known as Mongibello (Beautiful Mountain) a word that derives from Arabic times.

Visitors, both local and international, are instantly charmed by Etna and visit daily to this magical part of Sicily.

Since the Grand Tours started in 1680 Etna was the “must see” attraction of visitors to the island and was enjoyed by such notaries as Goethe, Byron and Maupassant, as she had already been by the Greek philosopher Empedocles and the Emperor Hadrian. She is a magnet for visitors looking for excitement and dramatic landscapes.

Mount Etna is the highest volcano in Europe. She extends for approximately 1250 square km and reaches a height of approximately 3350 metres. For her repeated eruptions over many years Etna can be considered to be one of the most active volcanoes in the world. From her height Mount Etna dominates the island, the three surrounding seas and the region of Calabria at the tip of the Italian mainland.

Etna offers varied and captivating sightseeing opportunities with the added view of external craters, lava flows, forests, citrus groves, fruit orchards and vineyards and there are many ways to enjoy and experience her. The most requested excursions in Sicily are to Etna.

The Parco dell’Etna (Etna Park) encompasses much of the volcano which has several craters many of which are thousands of years old and now extinct. The Parco dell’Etna is the first and largest national park in Sicily and is dedicated to maintaining safe access to the towering volcano.

With the advent of mass tourism hitting our beloved island due to the “White Lotus effect” the past couple of years we have been spending more time on Etna. From our home in Giardini Naxos it takes us around thirty five minutes by car to reach the lower slopes of the volcano.

I really do feel like we have some kind of infinity with Etna as she looms over our Sicilian house. Etna is surrounded by myths and legends and she really is a magical place. She provides us with the most unique produce from her fertile volcanic soil and she keeps us entertained with her antics and eruptions. It is very easy to sit on our roof terrace and watch her all day. Who needs a TV when you have Etna?

Covered in ancient lava flow it is said that her lava stone alleviates anxiety, promotes emotional tranquility and brings calmness and feelings of relaxation. Lava stone is also supposed to have very powerful spiritual effects on the human mind and is said to cleanse negative thoughts and emotions as well as aiding creativity.

A visit to Etna is always something to be savoured and enjoyed.

We have been visiting Sicily for the past twenty years and have had our second home in Giardini Naxos for eighteen years and yet there are places that we have still not visited and adventures that we have not yet experienced and so we created a ‘Sicily Bucket List’.

A bucket list is a list of experiences, achievements and goals that someone wants to accomplish in their lifetime.

One of Mr K’s goals has always been to spend one night on Mount Etna …

I love Etna in Autumn watching her flora and fauna change in colour and shade before she gets her winter coat from a dusting of snow. I love the produce that she produces in autumnal months and it is the olive and grape harvesting season essential for making new olive oil and new wine. Autumn is the best time of year for visiting a winery for wine tasting.

Me being me I put my travel planning hat on, did my research and discovered a dog friendly chalet called Etna Rural Cottage. I booked the chalet as a treat for Mr K’s birthday. His birthday falls in October, the perfect month when Etna is in her autumnal glory. We would arrive there on a Sunday afternoon and the next day on his birthday Mr K would get his wish to wake up on Etna.

Etna Rural Cottage is located near the town of Pedara which sits on the southern slopes of Etna about seven miles north of Catania. Legend says that the town is built on a plateau that was once dedicated to Zeus, the king of all gods and god of the sky. Pedara is one of the gateways for hiking and walking excursions on the southern side of the volcano. In the summer months Pedara is a lively resort town for locals from Catania looking to escape the hot city climate and the town has a great summertime nightlife.

When we woke up at home on the morning of our new volcanic adventure we did as we do every morning and went out onto our balcony to see what sort of mood Etna was in. Grumpy or tranquil, and also what the weather conditions were like, cloudy or clear. That morning Etna was in a tranquil mood with slight cloud cover on her main craters. From our house we can see many of the small extinct ancient craters that look like little pyramids and we wondered which one would be our home for the night.

Our host Fabio had advised us that there were amenities at the chalet for self catering including a barbecue and as the chalet is remote we decided to go to our local butcher to buy some meats to take with us to grill. The day before in my Sicilian kitchen I had made a batch of Caponata, a Sweet and Sour Sicilian Vegetable Stew, that we could take up with us to rewarm in the chalet kitchen to accompany our meats. We also packed plenty of local wine too.

Looking on Google maps it appeared that it would take us around 45 minutes to drive from our house. We decided to skip the motorway and take the scenic route by heading up the slopes of the volcano passing through the pretty Etna towns of Piedimonte Etneo, Milo and Zafferana Etnea. Check in was at 3pm for the chalet.

Etna Rural Cottage sits on the ancient volcano called Monte Difeso and has private access to its ancient crater which dates back to approximately 8000 years old. We had our own little volcano all to ourselves for one night.

On arrival Fabio came to greet us and showed us to the chalet and told us about our volcano and where to go for a walk with our dog Duke. The chalet has its own private garden and there were also complimentary bicycles. We fell in love at first sight with the chalet, it was a perfect serene place to spend one night with Etna.

The chalet features one bedroom with cute fairy lights over the bed, a living room with a sofa bed and a bathroom. The amenities included a hot tub, a spa bath and a fully equipped kitchen. Outside was a table with chairs, benches made out of logs and a hammock. Fabio had left breakfast for the next day inside the chalet including pastries, cakes and fresh fruit and explained that freshly laid eggs could be found the next morning in the chicken coop behind the chalet.

The chalet had such a cosy and welcoming vibe and we certainly felt at home.

Monte Difeso is completely covered in chestnut trees which being autumn were laden with chestnut husks waiting to fall and the ground surrounding the chalet was covered with lovely shiny chestnuts, hundreds of them. Good job that there was also a chestnut roasting grill in the garden too.

After settling in and meeting the chickens and cats that roam around freely outside the chalet we decided to go out for a walk and explore our volcano with Duke before dinner. We kept Duke on a long line leash at all times.

On our volcanic walk and with chestnuts under our feet, plus trying to avoid them bonking us on the head as they constantly kept falling from the trees, we followed the trail and were rewarded with breath taking views towards Catania and across the glistening Ionian Sea. We also stumbled upon some bee hives.

Mount Etna is well known for its chestnut woods and one of the big attractions within Parco dell’Etna is one particular legendary tree, Il Castagno dei Cento Cavalli (The Hundred Horse Chestnut Tree) located a short drive from Pedara in the nearby town of Milo.

There are many large chestnut trees throughout Europe but none can match up to the legendary Hundred Horse Chestnut Tree. The exact age of this tree is not truly known and estimates vary widely from 2000 to 4000 years old. The tree has survived many volcanic eruptions and it has been listed by the Guinness World Records as the greatest tree girth ever, noting that it had a circumference of 57.19M when it was first measured in 1780. Above ground the tree has since spilt into three multiple large trunks, but below ground these trunks still share the same roots. It is well worth a visit when on Etna. Legend says that Queen Giovanna of Anjou, (Joanna of Aragon, the Queen of Naples), whilst travelling from Spain to Naples stopped in Sicily and went to visit Mount Etna accompanied by all her knights. Since a storm had occurred she took refuge under this tree whose vast foliage was enough to cover this queen and all her knights from the rain.

After our long walk, which was much enjoyed by Duke, we had worked up quite an appetite and so Mr K started to fire up the barbecue and I started warming up my homemade caponata in a saucepan in the chalet kitchen.

Caponata is a classic Sicilian dish. The original recipe combines Sicilian baroque with vegetables that grow in abundance on Etna. The dish is bright in colour and each ingredient really looks like sparkling jewels once cooked. The main ingredients include aubergine, tomatoes and red peppers, but what gives this dish its own unique taste is the addition of sugar and red wine vinegar giving it that "agro dolce" (sweet and sour) taste. The fragrance of caponata being cooked or reheated is absolutely heavenly.

For the meats we had taken with us some pork chops, huge fresh burgers and salsiccia con finocchio (sicilian sausage with fennel).

Sicilian sausages are thin or thick and made from coarsely chopped pork and fennel seeds (I love the taste of fennel, it is pure Sicily).They were once described as al punto del coltello, hacked sausage, as the meat was painstakingly cut into little pieces. In the street markets and butchers shops in Sicily they are sold skewered in continuous coils by weight and the best way to cook them is alla bracie, grilled on a barbeque. In smaller villages in Sicily it is not unusual to see Sicilians standing in the butchers watching to ensure that their salsiccia is made to their favourite family secret recipe. Often the meat is a combination of pork and veal whilst others might have a mixture of cheese, sundried tomatoes and white wine or just plain with parsley. The mixture should not be too fatty or too lean. So the best thing to do for a Sicilian is to watch the butcher make them to ensure you do not end up with an inferior recipe. Sicilians love their sausages. Me too !!! Linguaglossa, another lovely town on the slopes of Etna is very well known for its salsiccia in fact many of our Sicilian friends who live in our town will actually drive there just to buy the best salsiccia.

After dinner we sat in the garden and took in the ambiance and tranquility of being at one with nature whilst peeling and enjoying some warm roasted chestnuts that we had gathered on our walk that afternoon before heading off to bed under the fairy lights.

When we woke up in the morning, the day of Mr K’s birthday, we were awoken by the sound of birdsong and gentle rainfall and the sound of more chestnuts falling on the wooden roof above us. Plonk plonk plonk !!!

After the rain subsided and we had enjoyed breakfast in the garden we went for another lovely walk on our volcano. I collected more chestnuts along the way to take home. We then wished Etna Rural Cottage a fond farewell before heading off back home to Giardini Naxos.

Once I was home I weighed my stash of chestnuts and discovered that I had collected a total of 1.6 kilos of nuts !!!!

We loved our stay at Etna Rural Cottage, the chalet is a perfect place for a romantic stay and for special occasions. The chalet is also ideally located for volcanic adventures on Etna’s southern side. Wine tasting is also available at the Mondifeso Etna Winery which is a walkable distance from the chalet.

A big thank you to Fabio and his cats and chickens for being the perfect hosts !!!!!

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Please note: well behaved dogs are allowed to stay at Etna Rural Cottage at a small additional fee, be aware that chickens and cats happily roam freely.