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A few steps from Mount Etna, on lava outcrops and flows residues, Paternò del Toscano Park stretches on some 7.5 acres as a peculiar terraced rock garden, designed by the landscape architect Ettore Paternò. The manor house inside the park was built in the 1950s, on the highest point of the estate.
The park consists of citrus groves and vineyards, typical of the Sicilian landscape, while the actual garden features Mediterranean and exotic plants from all over the world.

PLANTS

Palms are the most abundant species in the park – a great passion of Paternò – with 42 different species, including the rare Phoenix rubicola, from India, Trithrinax canegestris, from Argentina and Uruguay, and Chamareops humilis, quite common in the Mediterranean basin.

Among the exotic species, there’s Chorisia speciosa originally from South America, Oreopanax peltatum, from North America and Mexico, and Dracaena draco, from the Canary Islands and Cape Verde.

Near the pool and the outdoor lounge, next to the house, there are two large groups of species of the Washingtonia genus, including the Mexican fan palm (W.robusta), and the California palm (W. filifera).

On the southern side of the house, visitors can admire a grove of impressive Trachycorpus fortunei, a species native to the mountainous areas of Asia.

Among several native species, mostly located in the central area of the estate (the “Etna wood”), there terebinths (Pistacia terebinthus), downy oaks (Quercus pubescens), holm oaks (Quercus ilex), Cupressus sempervirens, and hackberries (Celtis australis) – all Euromediterranean species.

Worth knowing

Picnic catering service under the oaks of the Etna wood can be arranged, as well as breakfasts and light snacks. Furthermore, gardening and plant multiplication courses are regularly held within this green facility.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)