It’s more than just legend that Mount Etna nourishes all that is spread along her foothills in Sicily. For centuries, locals have looked up at the constantly puffing peak in celebration rather than fear.

For as long as humans have flourished there, Mt. Etna has lined the land with volcanic ash, creating a soil abundant in essential minerals like silica, iron, magnesium, and phosphorus; spurring lush plant growth, amping up the flavors of fruits and pistachios and holding water in the soil for grape vines destined to be wines – all things that keep the nearby villages and cities thriving.

Mount Etna also holds stories both ancient and new; some tragic and many mystical and beautiful. A recent day trip up and down the massive peak gave me an up close and fascinating education about the famed site, proving once again that often on a long journey, the side trips are where the magic happens.

I was visiting Sicily for the first time via the brilliant new Perillo Tours Custom Vacations (https://www.italyvacations.com/). The program marries the benefits of linking up with an established tour group (they’re celebrating their 80th year in business) with the desire to explore in a smaller group setting. For me, the trip up Mt. Etna was with four friends, led by our guide selected by Perillo for our specific needs. Giacomo Strazzeri, an expert on Etna from every angle, took us on a journey of science, nature, history, lore and even some amazing cappuccino.

Giacomo picked us up bright and early from our hotel in Taormino, the beautiful hilltop town featured in season two of the “White Lotus.”  As soon as he began winding us down the many switchbacks on the road to and from Taormino, he was bringing us closer to Mt. Etna’s aura.

We’d had a taste the afternoon before when, as the November sun set behind the peak, it gave off a breathtaking line of fire. “Ahh, our Etna,” our tour guide that afternoon, Paola Arcidiacono (another Perillo Tours hookup), said as we took in the spectacle. “Always she puffs in and out. And sometimes: she sneezes!”

Now, as we headed up toward the volcano itself, we heard stories of major eruptions – those in 1669, 1928, 1971 and 1983 are the most famed; flank events have been more frequent, including the 2002 event that took out hotels, buildings and a ski area.

We heard of ancient practices like, while fleeing a home in the line of a lava flow, leaving out a table with wine to please Etna enough to flow around the home (some claim it works), and stories of how those in the line of danger found ways to flee, as well as why after, they returned.

Up on the peak itself we climbed down into lava tubes, underground tunnels created by multi-level lava flows. We stood along the still-visible paths of those major eruptions and stood looking with awe at the spots where they ended.

We saw the flora and fauna adapt as we climbed upward, starting with tropical forestry and morphing into what felt like New England foliage and then – a surprise brought by lava moving across continents centuries ago and dropping roots – a full on birch tree forest. As Giacomo shared details, I almost felt bad for the folks just hiking along on their own past us: there’s so much more to be savored when you’re led by a passionate guide.

Back down the peak, Giacomo had suggested a post peak lunch and wine tasting at Cottanera Winery (https://cottanera.it/en/home/), one of the hundreds of wineries fortified by Mt. Etna’s fertile soil and changing temperatures. The winery is both comfortable and beautiful; a house dog lounges in the sun as we meander by, and on the grounds sits a remarkable inn, one I vow to return to one day.

There, as we sat in a bright, beautiful room savoring cheeses from sheep who grazed that fertile land, pasta created from grain grown there, and of course, sipping wines blessed by the volcano’s deft touch, I realized something: Mt. Etna feeds and cares for her visitors as well.

I raised my wine glass and smiled as I looked through a picture window to a scene you’d swear was an impressionist painting but is actually Mt. Etna’s landscape. I am filled, I thought: filled with great wine, amazing food and a connection now, for the rest of my life, to Etna herself.

Now that’s a journey worth taking.

The cozy and beautiful Cottanera Winery looks out at Mount Etna. (Photo Moira McCarthy)
Birch trees are a surprising site up on Mount Etna; they traveled via lava and land flows from other countries centuries ago. (Photo Moira McCarthy)