The lower slopes of Mount Etna, in Sicily, boast a centuries-old winemaking tradition. Our family planted vines and built a Palmento (historic winery) in 1790 in the area of San Gregorio di Catania—an activity that continued for nearly 200 years across multiple generations, until it was abandoned in the 1960s.
In 2018, eight cousins decided to revive the family tradition by replanting cuttings of native varieties historically grown here (notably Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Carricante). In the meantime, the property had been encroached upon and surrounded by the expanding city, and is now located in a fully urban setting—yet it miraculously preserves a rich anthropological heritage that reflects the historic viticulture of Etna, including the original Palmento (historic winery), a domed building belonging to the family of Etnean “Cube” structures, dry-stone walls, rasole (stone-paved floors), and hand-carved stone benches.
This is how Etna Urban Winery was born (www.etnaurbanwinery.it). In 2021, the first harvest took place after more than 50 years, and the first visitors began to explore this rebirth—walking through a guided tour of the urban vineyard and Palmento that culminates in a tasting of wines and traditional local dishes.