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Iridescent cloud over the Isole dei Ciclopi
The site called "Volcanites of the Cyclops and Acitrezza archipelago" is located in the stretch of sea in front of Acitrezza, a fishing village in the province of Catania, known for being the place where the author Giovanni Verga set the novel "I Malavoglia" . This site of fascinating and rare beauty falls within the "Isole dei Ciclopi" Marine Protected Area, an area of ​​important naturalistic interest, and represents a small archipelago made up of three main islets (Lachea, Faraglione Grande and Faraglione Piccolo) and by four large rocks arranged in an arc with respect to the coast. The Isole dei Ciclopi owe their name to the legend according to which Polyphemus threw huge boulders at Ulysses during his escape.
The rocks that form the archipelago originated five hundred thousand years ago, during the first of the four phases of Etna's evolution, following the clash between the Eurasian and African plates, which gave rise to a long period of underwater activity which, with the emission of basic lava gave rise to the Lachea Island and the Faraglioni.
Four types of volcanics can be found here, namely columnar basalts, those with thin prisms, hyaloclastites and pillow lavas.