There is a Mount Etna that is little known to tourists, and it is the one linked to ancient legends. Because before the natural spectacle of the eruptions and even before the Christian devotional tradition, the territory of our volcano was the heart of ancient tales. Every culture has left its own and many are tales of wizards, witches, goblins and fairies. Not infrequently, some demons also pop up here and there. Like the devil who “stole” the British Queen Elizabeth I – when, after her long reign, she died and was taken to hell passing right through the craters of Etna! And the devil is sometimes along the way, when you go on an excursion …

A path that leads to the Devil’s Footprint

To discover the devil’s tracks you have to reach Pian dell’Acqua, a locality of Etna East not far from the town of Zafferana Etnea. As the Etnanatura website explains, the excursion starts right from the immediate outskirts of Zafferana, from those famous “lava flows of 1992” that are now a favorite destination for tourists.

Going along Via Zerbate towards the valley, at the point where it joins Via San Giacomo, suddenly you take an asphalt road that abandons the classic route and immerses itself in the wild green of the San Giacomo valley, in the direction of Cugno di Mezzo. It is an easy walk, for a distance of about 3 km. Nothing excessive, therefore, nor tiring. The path offers many interesting ideas … and the Pedata del Diavolo is just a detail of everything you will admire.

The devil has left his sign

Also from Etnanatura we learn that: “A Pidata du Diavulu there are two large rocks on which you can still see the imprint of the devil’s shoe” (or the clog?, we ask ourselves)

“The history of Sicilian popular tradition, also due to the presence of Etna and the various succession of dominations and religious influences, has often intersected with the presence of the Devil, but it is a character halfway between the pagan deities and the fantastic beings that populate the mountains and forests. Many legends tell of encounters with the Devil during which the latter resembles much more a female spirit, halfway between a nymph and a witch, it is an undefined being, often capricious, most of the time evil, who sometimes lends himself to the will of those who manage to evoke him, it seems, he even left numerous traces of his passage scattered throughout almost the entire island”.

The boulder that supposedly bears the imprint of the evil visitor is a “very large boulder, resting on other boulders with two hollows, which look a lot like the sole of a foot trying to move the rocks to make them fall down the valley (Source Rivistanatura)”.

Along the path …

Continuing along the path, after the boulders with the “Pidata du Diavulu” you will reach the locality of Cugnu di Mezzo, where you can admire a downy oak tree with a centuries-old history. Going into San Giacomo valley, here is the Scalazza, then the very strange smooth rock of Pietra Barca.

Much more can be admired by deviating into Val Calanna, but on more challenging routes. Val Calanna – or what remains of it, under meters and meters of lava from 1992 – is home to places such as Monte Fior di Cosimo, Galleria Pietra Barca, the Ilice della Portella.

Going down again towards San Giacomo valley here is Cavasecca, the ancient Priory (the place where the city of Zafferana started in the Middle Ages), Dagala del Picchio.

How to get there

San Giacomo valley is an accessible and easy to travel location. In theory, a guide would not be necessary, but the advice we give is to ALWAYS have an expert person by your side. Also because, often, in San Giacomo valley you come across solitary flocks, left free to roam without the shepherd… but with very protective and aggressive guard dogs. To avoid panic, it is good to have an expert guide to provide security. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY G. MUSUMECI AND ETNANATURA)