Parco dell’Etna is a Regional Nature Park, with woodlands, trails, unique views, typical produce, historic town centres and whatever the season, the magnificence of eastern Sicily: powerful and general natural surroundings, an abundance of land, and the mildness and generosity of the “Muntagna”. The area itself has been divided into four zones, managed at different levels: there is a core zone (“zone A”), where nature is protected in its entirety, limiting human intervention to a minimum; a general reserve area (zone “B”), where protection and traditional economic activities are combined, in the form of small farmed areas, marked by the splendid examples of traditional old farmhouses, significant examples of rural architecture; an area of “controlled development and protection” (buffer zone), consisting of zones “C” and “D”, where there is notable human intervention and pursuit of economic development that is compatible with respect for the landscape and the environment. At the heart of the park is Etna, with its rocky border, 250 km in length, height of approx. 3350 m and a surface area of around 1260 square km. There are twenty municipal areas located inside the park (Adrano, Belpasso, Biancavilla, Bronte, Castiglione di Sicilia, Giarre, Linguaglossa, Maletto, Mascali, Milo, Nicolosi, Pedara, Piedimonte Etneo, Ragalna, Randazzo, Santa Maria di Licodia, Sant’Alfio, Trecastagni, Viagrande, and Zafferana Etnea), for a total population of some 250 thousand inhabitants.
Discover Etna: www.parcoetna.it