Nicolosi was built in the twelfth century around the Benedictine Monastery of St. Nicolò dell’Arena that was damaged several times by lava and was almost completely destroyed in 1669 and then again in 1693. The Mother Church, dedicated to the Saint Spirit features a magnificent wooden crucifix of the sixteenth century. The museum of volcanoes is very interesting with lava materials, photographs and panels explaining the volcanic activity of Etna.