The Lachea island is surrounded by crystal clear water and wonderful sea bottoms to be explored.

It is the largest of the islands of the archipelago of the Cyclops.

These would be the rocks that the Cyclops Polyphemus would have thrown against Ulysses, as recounted in Book IX of the Odyssey; Homer described the island as inhabited only by goats, and the places also correspond to Euripides, Pliny and Virgil descriptions.

The island is home to a station for biological studies of the University of Catania and is part of the integral nature reserve Isola Lachea and Cyclops stacks.

The island is 250 meters long and 150 wide and its maximum height from the sea level is 35 meters.

The island was formed from the first activities of Etna, by intrusion of magma in the pre-existing rocks of the seabed, and on it were found some important archaeological finds: an ax of prehistoric times, two cave tombs and several objects from the late Roman era.

The island is home to a nature museum, a cistern and the "Grotta del Monaco".

The museum houses a rich collection of fauna and flora of the island, and archaeological finds.

As for the fauna, it is worth mentioning a subspecies of lizards spotted only on the island which, isolated from the mainland, has gradually differentiated from them with the appearance of red spots in the body.

For information tel.: 095 6139256.

Top