The Schiena dell’Asino trail is among the best-known and popular on Mount Etna. This is because it is one of the least hard and most scenic hikes, suitable for anyone accustomed to walking. The approximately 6-km trail is mostly flat, after a significant initial elevation gain, and the final reward is a truly breathtaking view over the valley Del Bove and the summit craters! If you want to add emotion to emotion, take a short detour on this trail and enter… Grotta Pitagora, or Pythagoras Cave !
Schiena dell’Asino and Grotta Pitagora
The two trails can be followed independently. That is, you can reach Pythagoras Cave and then return to the parking lot, walking for less than 1 km but on very steep and therefore strenuous terrain. Or you can stop here for a while, then go back and rejoin the Schiena dell’Asino trail to reach its summit on the edge of valley Del Bove. In both cases, it is essential to have a good local guide by your side. Even a simple trail on a volcano like Etna can be challenging.
Fun facts: Schiena dell’Asino (Donkey Back) trail has this name because it follows a rounded, saddle-shaped ridge, resembling a donkey’s back; Pythagoras Cave’s name is due to its perfectly square entrance, reminiscent of the lines of the famous theorem’s triangle!
Discovering Grotta Pitagora
Located along the Schiena dell’Asino trail, this cave immediately strikes you with the shape of its opening, a right-angled rocky triangle. The cave measures 6×18 meters and is located within a rock that, on the opposite side, drops sheer into a valley.
Despite its strange shape, the cave appears not to have been formed by the “usual” lava flow… but by the displacement of sand due to repeated seismic events over time. Other theories, however, hold that the cave is the result of a vertical magma eruption (lava dike) that settled on a sandy ridge. Over time, the sand was carried away by the wind, creating a void that forms the cavity. Several scholars agree on this second hypothesis, which makes this cave geologically unique because nowhere else in the world had a phenomenon like this been recorded. In any case, for the avid tourist, it is fascinating to admire… and explore.
The interior is easily accessible, thanks to the sandy floor and the height of the ceiling, which only gets excessively close to the ground at the very bottom. Some holes opened up over time in the rock slab that forms the roof, allowing for special openings for sunlight, create fascinating plays of light and color. If you want to see it in preview, watch the Passione Etna facebook page’s video .
How to reach the trail and the cave
The Grotta Pitagora is located on the same trail as the Schiena dell’Asino, which you can access from road SP 92 (Via Cassone) that climbs from Zafferana Etnea towards Rifugio Sapienza. At the point where the road junctions with the Strada Trazzera Salto del Cane, on the right you’ll see a sandy clearing almost always occupied by parked cars. Not far away is the access barrier to the Schiena dell’Asino trail.
The parking lot is 32 km away from Catania – about an hour’s drive – and 16 km away from both Zafferana Etnea and Nicolosi, just a half-hour drive from each. —- PHOTO BY Pexels – Pixabay