Etna North, the cleaning of the track for 3,000 meters begins. But for off-road excursions, the Park's green light is awaited

On Monday, the companies that take tourists off-road for excursions at Etna North will begin the cleaning of the trail that goes from Piano Provenzana to 3,000 meters, buried under snow. This is not new; it happens every year at this time. But it is news because until a few days ago, the concrete risk was that it could not be done due to a missing environmental authorization because of the bureaucratic delays that too often paralyze the Etna Park.

This time, however, the letters from lawyers and dialogue prevailed: thus, while waiting for the opinion to take its course, a derogation has been granted. Private individuals will be able to start working on the maintenance of the trail immediately. This is a crucial detail because, given all the snow that has fallen in the last month, it will take about a month to bring the path into sufficient condition for vehicles to pass. And to give the green light for excursions at altitude, provided that in the meantime the Park authority completes the process on the Vinca, the Environmental Impact Assessment.

For almost 50 years, excursions on the trail leading to the Astronomical Observatory have been in the hands of a single private entity, the company Star. After a long battle and the intervention of the Antitrust, the municipalities that own the trail - Linguaglossa and Castiglione - have opened up to the free market. The latest tenders for a duration of nine years were announced in 2024 by Castiglione and in 2022 by Linguaglossa.

The companies that have won the concessions still receive annual authorization for their activities from the Park, which simply needs to verify the maintenance of the requirements of the private entities. However, for 2026, despite reminders starting from last October, the green light has not arrived because at the end of April, the Vinca will expire, the environmental impact assessment obtained in 2021, which, unlike the concession, has a five-year duration.

Private individuals, aware of the bureaucracy's slowness, have tried to expedite the process, already requesting the renewal in the fall. However, the Park, which has recently changed leadership with the appointment of the melonian Massimiliano Giammusso as president, only opened the dossier in February. Hence the letters to the agency, highlighting the economic damages that companies would suffer in case of a failure to start the excursions in spring. The case has also reached Parliament, with the interpellation from the Pd deputy Anthony Barbagallo who outlined all the problems encountered on the volcano in recent months. 

The pressure had the desired outcome. The dialogue between private individuals and the park - particularly with the director Giuseppe Battaglia, who is also the general manager of the Urban Planning department of the regional Department of Territory and Environment - has unlocked the impasse. The agency has given the green light for the companies to begin cleaning the trail, even though the Vinca has not yet been approved.

The process for the environmental assessment is still ongoing. The Municipality of Linguaglossa has recently submitted the assessment to the Park, which will now be published, and 30 days should pass for any observations. Then it will be the technical scientific committee of the Park that will express the final opinion. At best, the process will conclude no earlier than mid-April. The hope of those working at Etna Nord is that it does not go beyond that.