Monte Etna y Modica

Información

Escape Malta for the day and be seduced by the delights of Sicily with a tour that takes you from Pozzallo, through the ancient port of Catania and to the active Mount Etna.

*Guided bus tour of the city of Catania
*Visit the Sylvester Craters which date back to the 1892 eruption
*Opportunity for shopping

Explore the beauty of Eastern Sicily with a visit to the highest active volcano in Europe, Mount Etna. In a small group you will journey from Malta to Pozzallo (so passports and embarkation cards are needed) and experience a guided tour of the old port of Catania that sits at the base of Mount Etna.

After driving up to the Sylvester Craters, with an ongoing commentary, you will have the opportunity to admire the panoramic views. There is time to buy lunch and indulge in a bit of souvenir shopping to remind you of this memorable trip, before a ride to Modica, like the other towns in the Val di Noto, was badly damaged in the 1693 earthquake and largely rebuilt in Sicilian Baroque style. It is divided into two parts, “higher” Modica and “lower” Modica, which are connected by numerous flights of steps. Palazzi and houses rise from the bottom of the gorge seemingly stacked one on top of the other. Magnificent churches, with their inspiring domes, bell towers and intricate facades, punctuate the red-tiled roofs and one is struck by the uniform beauty of the whole. The centrepiece is undoubtedly the beautiful Church of San Giorgio, though the “Castello dei Conti”, surveying the town from atop a rocky outcrop, is also very impressive.

Modica is custodian of a 400 year tradition of Sicilian chocolate-making. Being part of the Spanish kingdom for so many years meant that Sicily was often one of the first recipients of the new foodstuffs being brought back from South America. Cacao was one of these and today Modica still specialises in making granulous chocolate, often flavoured with chilli pepper, cinnamon or vanilla, that is based on Aztec methods and recipes. Chocolate shops abound and, for the real chocoholic, it is sometimes possible to watch the “chocolatiers” at work. Finally a return to Pozzallo before departing for Malta after a day of exploring the dramatic volcanic region of Catania.

Meeting/pick-up point: At the hotel.
Duration: 8 hours.
Start/opening time: Between 1 and 1:30pm.