Parco fluviale dell'Alcantara, Regional park in Francavilla di Sicilia, Italy.

Parco fluviale dell'Alcantara is a protected river basin on Etna's northern slope, established in 2001 across the metropolitan cities of Messina and Catania. Near Fondaco Motta in Motta Camastra, the river runs through the Gole dell'Alcantara, deep gorges with prismatic basalt columns arranged like organ pipes. Upstream, at Giardinelli near Castiglione di Sicilia, the water has carved the Gurne dell'Alcantara, a chain of small lakes and waterfalls.

The park was established in 2001 to protect an ancient river system that has worked through volcanic rock for thousands of years. The river's name comes from an Arabic word used in medieval times when the region had strong cultural ties to North Africa.

The Alcantara gives its name to the valley; medieval Arabic writers called it al-qantar, "the bridge", and the river still marks the border between the metropolitan cities of Messina and Catania. In spring the banks flower with violets, poppies, anemones, myrtle, dog rose, prickly pear, terebinth, oleander and orchids such as Anacamptis papilionacea and Ophrys tenthredinifera. Lower down, hazelnut groves alternate with citrus orchards and vineyards.

Access is via the A18 motorway, exiting at Giardini-Naxos and taking the SS 185 towards Francavilla. At kilometre 55, in Fondaco Motta near Motta Camastra, a long municipal staircase leads down to the riverbed of the Gole; private lifts also run for a fee. At kilometre 50 lies Francavilla di Sicilia, park headquarters and start of the Sentiero delle Gurne.

The river has exposed hexagonal basalt columns up to 30 meters tall where the lava once cooled naturally into geometric shapes. These formations create an unusual visual pattern that appears nowhere else in Sicily in quite the same way.