Overview
- Since October 2, visitors must buy a €5 ticket from the Ätna-Seilbahn to walk the Silvestri craters, a short loop near the Sapienza refuge.
- Sicilian residents are exempt from the charge, while tourists from elsewhere are required to pay.
- Operator Francesco Russo Morosoli says his group has owned the crater area since 1997 and argues the fee covers staff, information materials, benches and waste bins.
- Nicolosi mayor Angelo Pulvirenti has called for an immediate legal review, and lawmakers have submitted parliamentary questions over managing a UNESCO-listed landscape.
- Public protests and criticism have grown, and whether the fee remains in place depends on the outcome of the pending legal scrutiny.