# Fiumefreddo di Sicilia

Fiumefreddo di Sicilia is a city in the province of Catania on the north eastern slopes of Etna on the Ionian coast.

## Understand

The territory is almost entirely flat, especially in the part that extends towards the sea and the beach of Marina di Cottone.
It has a Mediterranean climate. Winter ensures generally mild temperatures during the day, but the difference in temperatures compared to the night-time hours can also be quite pronounced. The long-lasting summer is very hot, sometimes with high levels of humidity. Precipitation reaches a very marked summer minimum and a moderate peak in the autumn season.

## Get in

Fiumefreddo di Sicilia is served by a junction of the Messina - Catania highway and is crossed by the north-south direction (A18, SS114).
Through it (SS120), you can reach Etna and the Madonie.

### By train

* 37.795315.20561 Fiumefreddo di Sicilia station, Piazza Mazzini. Along the Messina - Syracuse line. (updated Feb 2023)

## Get around

During the summer, shuttle services are set up towards the seaside resort of Marina di Cottone.

## See

* 37.79202215.2075191 Church of Maria SS. Immaculate, Via Umberto.
* 37.78992715.2138282 Church of Maria Santissima del Rosario, Via della Chiesa, 68, ☏ +39 095646518. Erected in the 18th century.
* 37.79159415.2233493 Castle of the slaves (Castello degli schiavi), Via Badalà, 63. 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.
* 37.7995915.2010284 Torrerossa. 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.
* 37.7869415.234535 Fiumefreddo River Nature Reserve (Riserva naturale Fiume Fiumefreddo), ☏ +39 095 4013625. M-F 08:30-13:30 and 14:30-17:30, Sa 08:30-13:00. 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

## Do

* 37.783115.23421 Marina di Cottone. A wide beach. Has been awarded the Blue Flag for several years. Free.
* Helisicily, Via Catania Messina, 14, ☏ +39 376-14-28-103, info@helisicily.com. Sunrise–sunset daily. Helicopter tours of Etna. Etna group helicopter tour € 300 - Etna private helicopter tour from € 1000. (updated Nov 2024)

## Sleep

* La Terra dei Sogni, Via Catania-Messina, 14 - C.da Gona, ☏ +39 095 641725, fax: +39 095 7765692. The main hotel of the town. 3-star hotel with restaurant, swimming pool and nursery. Single from €60, double £63, triple €81, breakfast included. (updated Feb 2023)