Nuova Gussonea Botanical Garden
The Nuova Gussonea Botanical Garden is located in the Etna Park, at an altitude of 1700 m a.s.l., in the Carpinteri district, in the Ragalna area. The name Nuova Gussonea was chosen to commemorate the well-known Sicilian flora scholar, Giovanni Gussone.
The garden, which contains only Etnean plants, was organized starting from the consideration that plants in nature do not live isolated, but united in communities. On the basis of this principle, the garden was organized in such a way as to be able to host, as well as various collections of Etna flora, also plant communities chosen from those that most characterize the Etna area. Among the collections we mention: the groves, i.e. wooded communities, chosen from those characterizing the vegetal landscape of Etna, including the grove of Betula aetnensis, an endemic species of Etna, and the cenosis of Quercus suber, a species in danger of extinction in the Etna area; a flowerbed intended to host endemic species of Etna; the dendrological collection of the Arboretum, intended to contain the largest possible number of Etnean woody plants and still under construction. There are also: lava surfaces for the knowledge of the processes of plant colonization; a lava cave to be able to observe, even for educational purposes, the adaptations of plants to the progressive decrease in light intensity.
The garden is accessed via a carriage path that leads to the Giacomini Refuge from which a network of pedestrian paths branches off that connect it to the various sectors.
