ABOUT US

Nikos Lo Giudice, a great passionate of mountain sports and sport climbing lover, as a youth he spends the days furrowing the slopes of the volcano. Given his free-climber skills, he was constantly looking for suitable places for this type of activity. His days are marked by a constant workout, both in summer and winter, necessary to face the cross-country skiing competitions, in that time flourishing on the side of Linguaglossa. He took part in numerous regional and non-regional championships, getting excellent results. Experience and skill would have brought him in a short time to acquire the qualification as cross-country skiing instructor; today he practices his profession on the Poiana ski track of Etna Nord. Not just skiing and climbing, Nikos also loves canyoning, a sport in continuous development in Sicily. The constant frequency of the impervious environments combined with the constant workouts made in nature allowed him to establish a profound knowledge and a strong connection with the territory. The passion for the fascinating mountain that had grown him up, the experience and the strong connection with the volcano allowed him to get the title of Volcanological Guide; now Nikos is ready to lead the tourist to discover the charm of the Etna.

Vincenzo Greco attends the Faculty of Geology of the University of Catania and he spent his childhood in close contact with the volcano. Grandson of an alpine guide from whom he takes the name, just a few months after his birth, his parents brought him to Piano Provenzana. The little Vincenzo spent his days playing in the woods and running between the naked tongues of lava. The curiosity arisen from constantly frequenting the natural environment allowed him to establish a special connection with the mountain, a true teacher of life for him. At the age of 4 he learns what alpine skiing was; at the age of 5 he visits the summit craters for the first time. At the age of 8 he witnesses the great eruption of 2002 that destroyed Piano Provenzana. Fascinated and struck by such a power, he began to devote himself to the study of the volcano and of the eruptive phenomena, while continuing his winter and summer ascents together with the guides of Etna. The passion kept growing and  – firm to the values that had been transmitted to him – he decides to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, who died when he was only 6 years old. At the age of 18 he is entrusted with the task of cataloging the scientific material of Salvatore Cucuzza, a well-known University of Catania’s Volcanologist. Thus began his collaboration with the INGV researchers. Thanks to his continuous research, he carries out a project with the help of Dr. Stefano Branca and he would have soon present it at the Etna Park site, entitled: “The documentary and photographic archive of Salvatore Cucuzza”. Lover also of sport, Vincenzo falls in love with ski mountaineering, an ideal activity to be played on the volcano. He also spends his time on sport climbing, running and trail running races. In 2016 he had the possibility to take part in the course for becoming a guide and in February 2017 he managed to fulfill his dream, obtaining the title of Volcanological Guide, the youngest to reach this goal throughout Italy.

Domenico Domanti, grandson of an alpine guide and cross-country ski instructor’s son, descends from a family that has made the love for the mountain its daily bread. Educated, especially by his grandfather Domenico, to the culture and respect of the volcano, he grows up on skis from the earliest age. He discovers he has winter sports skills, managing to get great satisfaction in many cross-country races. The love the young man has for the mountain is great; any excuse to get on and have fun. The numerous days spent at height allowed him  to increase the connection with the volcano, so much that he  wishes to work on its area one day. It was not easy, but Domenico doesn’t lose hope, he gets passionate about snowboarding, succeeding in obtaining the qualification as snowboard instructor in March 2013. Currently he exercises his profession in the ski area of Piano Provenzana. But he was not satisfied, he wanted more, so, thanks to the advices of his dear grandfather, engine that feeds his passion, manages to pass the hard tests to become a Volcanological Guide, succeeding in obtaining the most desirable title. Now Domenico is ready to develop his own activity each day of the year on that mountain that has grown him up, ready to transmit his passion to anyone who wishes to know the secrets of our wonderful mountain.

Daniele Maugeri, age class ’84, born and grown up on the slopes of Etna, where immediately took his first steps; at the age of 3, on the shoulders of a historic Etna guide, it overlooks the edge of the central crater for the first time; at the same age he starts to ski, starting to live the Etna in a 360-degrees way, freely following its seasons and learning to know it in all its shades and multiple aspects. Always looking for new ways to get involved and get to know “a muntagna” (Sicilian name for “the mountain”), he starts since he was young to practice freeclimbing and, at the age of 16, he abandons definitively the competitive skiing to devote himself full time to skiing-mountaineering on Mount Etna; with the passing of the time, the immense passion for outdoor activities leads him to widen his horizons, moving at the age of 23 to the Alps, where he continues to practice ski mountaineering (also in Telemark), mountain bike (without disdaining some bikepacking trips), climbing on long routes and he also starts practicing classic mountaineering and ice climbing. In 2010 he starts to work as Alpine Ski Instructor in the Alto Adige region, where he got his diploma; moving then to Madesimo (Lombardy) where he still practices. As Volcanological Guide he has now the pleasure to transmit – thanks to the outdoor activities – this passion for the Etna and for the volcanos, making people discover them safely and sharing small great adventures while having fun.