On the mount Etna slopes there is a very special nature reserve. We could say it's more a private than a public reserve: it is one of the most interesting area of the Simeto River, wonderful canyons carved in the basalt rocks by the river.

The Lavic Ravins, close to the "Saraceno" bridge, should be inside the Nature Reserve Regional Plan, but it has always be just a plan. As we showed on the path, it is possible to walk just along a few hundred meters of the river banks, all the rest is fenced and inaccessible.

L'ingrottato della Cantera, il piu' spettacolare canyon scavato dal Simeto tra Bronte e Cesaro' Una splendida libellulare rossa, fotografata sul letto del fiume Troina, nei pressi del ponte La Cantera Il Simeto taglia la roccia presso le forre laviche, separando Adrano da Centuripe L'enorme torre di roccia generata alla confluenza del Simeto con il fiume Troina Le forre laviche del Simeto, con il ponte Saraceno sullo sfondo Forre laviche scavate dal fiume Troina poco prima del ponte la Cantera Una libellula tra i fili di ragnatela nei pressi del fiume Troina Il Simeto separa il basalto dell'Etna dalla terra rossa dei Nebrodi Il fiume Troina poco prima di confluire nel Simeto alle gole della Cantera Una simpatica ranocchia nei pressi del Simeto

Here the water is precious, used to grow vegetables, fruits and so on. This is one of the few areas in Sicily with good agricultural production, probably the real challenge should be the preservation of both economic and environmental aspects, but so far it seems that the environment is not considered at all.

Even worse is the situation at the canyon "La Cantera": this is the most interesting area of the Simeto river and it is not even included in the plan for future nature reserve regional institution, you must walk on private areas in order to reach the canyon.

In the end, Simeto river can sleep soundly: it is more protected than a natural reserve, we could say it is... reserved :-(