The Park Municipalities are characterized by several historical evidences you should visit accurately if you really want to discover the origins of the Valley.

Following the course of the river Alcantara back to its source, the visitor will be welcomed by Giardini Naxos, the first Greek colony in Sicily. From Mt. Tauro, the renowned tourist resort of Taormina dominates the plain of Capo Schisò. The two centers offer the visitor a rich historical, cultural, and architectural heritage, whose evidences can be found in the local Museums.

Along the valley there is Calatabiano, whose name derives from the Arab term “Qalat-Bian” meaning Biano’s Castle. Of great interest the traditional Descent of St. Filippo during the third week of May, an occasion to visit the medieval Castle and the Castle of S.Marco, with its typical rectangular plan.

Gaggi is an ancient hamlet whose name derives from the Arab Karigi, meaning water canal. The town develops near the lower Valley of the River Alcantara, near Monte La Guardia.

Farther on you will find Graniti, a town of Arab origins situated on the right bank of the stream Petrolo. Renowned for its Pine Forest, it has always been famous for the rich production of cherries.

Our itinerary continues towards Motta Camastra housing, along the SS road leading to the various towns of the Park, the famous “Gole dell’Alcantara”, a site known all over the world for its spectacular basaltic prisms. The interference between the incandescent lava and the slow cooling along the course of the Alcantara transformed the river into a very interesting destination not only for tourists, but also for researchers and scientists.

Farther on, between the Alcantara and the river Zavianni Valleys, there is Francavilla di Sicilia, housing the administrative headquarters of the Park.

Not to be missed a visit to the Monastery of the Capuchin Friars, where you will find the Museum of the Franciscan evidences and the herbarium, displaying the typical medicinal plants of the local ecosystem. Near the Monastery, in 1719 a bloody battle between the Spanish and the Austrian troops took place, as it is documented by prints and by a detailed description of the event.

Castiglione di Sicilia houses the Environmental Education Center. The buildings that are worth a visit are the Castle of Lauria, the Mother Church, and the Church of S.Domenica (called Cuba), a rare and precious example of dome-shaped Byzantine building.

Moio Alcantara develops in an alluvial plain near Mt. Moio, one of the minor craters linked to Etna. In the past, the eruption giving origin to the lava that involved the bed of the river Alcantara was ascribed to the pyroclastic cone of Mt. Mojo.

However, recent research has denied this hypothesis, ascribing the origin of the lava flow to Mt. Dolce.

Malvagna offers the possibility to admire the remains of the 17th century monastery of the Friars Minor and the small Byzantine church with a cella tricora dating back to the 6th-7th century and called "Cuba".

The ancient Auricella, today Roccella Valdemone, lies at the foot of Punta di Castelluzzo. Of strategic importance since Norman times, it offers the opportunity to visit the Mother Church, the Church dedicated to Udienza, and the ruins of the Feudal Castle.

The journey across the Valley ends in Randazzo, a town rich in historical and architectural evidences, housing the headquarters of three Parks (Alcantara, Etna, and Nebrodi) and the homonymous Visitor Center.