Etna dazzled. For two days the volcano had lurked obdurately behind clouds, out of sight to the extent I had wondered if it was there at all. But with a burst of sunshine suddenly all was revealed. Standing near the ruins of the mighty fortress, Castello di Lauria, I gazed in awe at the 11,000 ft mountain, shimmering under a fresh topping of snow.
Complete with the remains of its 12th-century castle, the picture book Medieval village of Castiglione di Sicilia stands commandingly over the Alcantara Valley, in the shadow of Europe’s largest active volcano.
