Fiumefreddo di Sicilia

Erected in the 18th century.

The name of the castle comes from a legend. It is said that, about two centuries ago, a skilled Palermo doctor named Gaetano Palmieri healed the son of the prince of Palagonia, Gravina-Cruyllas, who, out of gratitude, gave him a plot of land near the Fiumefreddo river. Palmieri built a fortified villa there and often lived there, as it was greatly appreciated by his wife Rosalia, who however flirted with a certain Nello Corvaja, from Taormina. One day Turkish pirates landed, looted the villa, and kidnapped the two owners. When they were about to flee they were joined by a group of armed young men who had arrived from Taormina led by Corvaja, who defeated the Turks. To thank God, they erected a small church dedicated to Our Lady of the Sacred Letter and a loggia was built in which the two statues of Turks were placed. The Turks seem to look towards the sea, anxious to be freed from their companions, hence the name of the Slaves. Nowadays the castle is privately owned by the Platania family, barons of Santa Lucia. A large portal with a lava stone arch acts as an entrance, with an angry Saracen in the centre, surmounted by a shell typical of the Catanese Baroque. Of the castle, the loggia on the top with the two statues of the Turks is striking. The small church built in 1544 by Ferdinando Gravina-Crujllas and dedicated to San Giovanni overlooks the courtyard, to then be dedicated in 1840 to the Madonna della Lettera.

Funerary building from the Roman age that stands in a citrus grove close to the SS 120. The building, although compromised over the centuries by the action of atmospheric agents, has the shape of a parallelepiped and is made entirely of terracotta bricks, hence the "red" denomination.

The reserve is located in the immediate vicinity of the Fiumefreddo river and there is the papyrus plant as it is present in Syracuse , the only examples of spontaneous growth in Europe, but it is in fact inaccessible due to disputes over access to the land. Therefore, only the reception hall with explanatory panels can be visited

A wide beach. Has been awarded the Blue Flag for several years.

Helicopter tours of Etna.