A magical world where the world’s most beautiful specimens are free to fly; a large tropical greenhouse where it is possible to immerse oneself in the fascinating world of Lepidoptera and discover their life cycle: this is the House of Butterflies in Viagrande (Catania, Sicily, Italy), which reopened to the public on 1 March this year after work to update the exhibition routes.
‘The historic structure, which for almost 25 years has been hosting schoolchildren, families, and enthusiasts from all over the world, as every year presents some novelties,’ emphasises the president of the Amici della Terra association and promoter of Etna Today, Ettore Barbagallo. ’This season in the structure there will also be a focus on silk. Not everyone knows that many years ago, silkworm breeding, i.e. the caterpillars of the Bombyx mori moths, was conducted by several Sicilian families and that the cocoons produced were sold to silkworm breeders to obtain a small but very useful income. The history of this noble and precious fabric is fascinating and is linked to the legendary ‘Silk Road’, the long route from China to Italy. Inside the House of the Butterflies, one can observe silkworms intent on creating silk cocoons and the various stages of production’.
The emotional involvement aroused by a visit to the Butterfly House stimulates young visitors in particular to appreciate the importance of Biodiversity and to have a more conscious attitude towards the Environment in order to know, respect and defend it. ‘It is the first facility of its kind in the whole of southern Italy,’ continues Barbagallo, ’where hundreds of butterflies, among the most beautiful and extraordinary in the world, in the most varied shapes and colours, are free to fly and be admired. In the midst of its lush vegetation, they can be observed at close range in all their beauty as they feed, fly or rest in an environment that reproduces their natural habitat’.
The House of the Butterflies is a model of experiential tourism, where playful-educational, scientific and environmental aspects are intertwined. The emotional involvement aroused by a visit to the tropical greenhouse, where one is literally enveloped by the warmth and graceful flight of butterflies, invites one to appreciate Nature and rediscover the importance of these tiny insects, which together with bees, thanks to pollination, ensure the survival of ecosystems and thus of life as a whole.
‘Hundreds of butterflies from all over the world, particularly from South America and Asia, populate the large aviary, performing the entire life cycle: from egg to caterpillar, then chrysalis and finally adult butterfly. The wonder of witnessing the hatching of the chrysalis and the metamorphosis of the caterpillars is an unforgettable experience. So is observing the flight of the world’s most beautiful butterflies, including the Monarch butterfly, the Cobra moth, the Blue Morpho, the Owl butterfly, and many other species housed within the structure specially built to respect the physiological needs of these wonderful insects. Our mission,’ concludes Barbagallo, ’therefore remains that of environmental education, enhancing the territory’s natural emergencies and promoting responsible and educational tourism.
