"La Timpa" Nature Reserve
Timpa Reserve protected area constitutes for a long stretch a coast overlooking the sea. It is a natural slope determined by the movement of one of the major faults in the eastern Etna sector, the Acireale fault.
From a landscape point of view, the Timpa area represents one of the most important examples of the Etnean coastal landscape. The terraces made of lava stone along the steeper slopes, the small walkways, the internal roads, the irrigation canals, the dry stone walls, constitute the memory of this area.
In the territory of the Timpa there are the Grotta delle Colombe with enchanting columnar basalts which in ancient times formed a cave along the cliff of Santa Maria la Scala and the lava flow cave, formed due to the ingress of lava during an eruption, present along the route of the old railway.
