Giardini Naxos and volcano Etna

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Sicily's greatest natural attraction is also its highest mountain: Mount Etna, at 10,990 feet, is the most active volcano in Europe and the oldest recorded active volcano in the world.
Mount Etna is an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the largest active volcano in Europe, currently standing about 3,326 m (10,910 ft) high, though it should be noted that this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21.6 m (71 ft) lower now than it was in 1865. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km (460 square miles) with a basal circumference of 140 km.The fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations.

L'Etna un vulcano attivo che si trova sulla costa orientale della Sicilia (Italia), tra Catania e Messina. il vulcano attivo pi alto del continente europeo e uno dei maggiori al mondo. La sua altezza varia nel tempo a causa delle sue eruzioni, ma si aggira attualmente sui 3.340 m. s.l.m. Il suo diametro di circa 45 chilometri.
Un tempo era noto anche come Mongibello.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVI7A-ESPgM


Giardini Naxos is a comune in the Province of Messina on the island of Sicily in Italy. It is situated on the coast of the Ionian Sea on a bay which lies between Cape Taormina and Cape Schis. Today it is a po! pular se aside-resort.
Founded by Thucles the Chalcidian in 734 BC, Naxos was never a powerful city, but its temple of Apollo Archegetes, protecting deity of all the Greek colonies, gave it prominence in religious affairs. Leontini and Catania were both colonized from here. Hippocrates, tyrant of Gela, captured it in 494 BC. Its opposition to Syracuse ultimately led to its capture and destruction in 403 BC at the hands of Dionysius the tyrant, after it had supported Athens during that city's disastrous Sicilian Expedition. Though the site continued to be inhabited, most activity shifted to neighbouring Tauromenium.
In 1544, following the raids by Turkish corsair, Barbarossa Kheir-ed-Din, several military buildings were constructed to protect Cape Schis from the Barbary pirates who continued to attack and plunder the coastal villages. These were Schis Castle which was rebuilt from an earlier 13th century castle, Schis fort, and Vignazza Tower. The latter is a quadrangular watchtower which served to patrol the coast south of Port Schis; if any pirate boats were sighted, the observers inside the tower could alert the villagers and neighbouring watchtowers by sending out smoke signals. Vignazza Tower is located in the Recanati area of Giardini Naxos, but is not open to the public.
Prior to the early 1970s, Giardini Naxos was a quiet fishing village. Now it is a popular tourist destination, famous for its beaches, panoramic view of the bay and surrounding hills, and its small, but bustling fishing port. It attracts foreign visitors and Italians alike, many of whom own summer residences in the comune. The seafront, Via Tysandros, is lined with hotels, smaller pensions, pubs, restaurants and pizzerias.

Giardini-Naxos un comune di 9.152 abitanti della provincia di Messina. Anticamente chiamata Nasso, dista 39 km da Messina e 40 da Catania.
Nell'attuale collocazione di Giardini-Naxos, presso Capo Schis, nel 734 a.C. dei coloni calcidesi fondarono quello che da tutti ritenuto il primo insediamento grec! o in Sic ilia. Alla nuova colonia venne attribuito il nome di Naxos come l'omonima isola nel Mar Egeo. Nonostante rimase un centro di modeste dimensioni mantenne il suo valore simbolico, in quanto venne eretto un altare in onore di Apollo Archegetes, questo era il punto di partenza degli ambasciatori greci in ritorno alla madrepatria. Durante la Guerra del Peloponneso Naxos si schier con Atene, ma quando nel 403 a.C. la spedizione militare ateniese in Sicilia fall, il tiranno siracusano Dionigi il Vecchio la fece radere al suolo e fece costruire sull'altura sovrastante Tauromenion (Taormina). Il territorio venne donato ai Siculi e gli abitanti furono venduti come schiavi. Il nome Naxos permase nel tempo anche in epoca romana e nell'Itinerario Antonino del III secolo d.C. viene citato come localit per lo scambio di cavalli lungo la strada consolare in direzione Siracusa. Nel periodo bizantino sulle spoglie della colonia greca si and a formare un piccolo centro abitato, questo divent l'approdo strategico per la vicina Taormina. Il periodo di dominio arabo ha lasciato numerosi toponimi come quello del vicino fiume Alcantara o dello stesso Capo Schis.

Font : Wikipedia

www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1tVP6wBJIQ