The Billy Lids

Mount Etna, 3,300 metres high, the highest active volcano in Europe, located less than halfway down the eastern coast of Sicily.

In mythology, Etna was identified as the location of the forge of Volcan, home of the Cyclopses, and where the giant Enceladus laid (eruptions being his breath and earthquakes his motion). Etna's beauty, frequent eruptions, and long record of eruptions makes it one of the world's best known volcanoes. With hundreds of papers published on nearly every aspect of Etna's geology it is probably one of the world's most studied volcanoes.

A Long-Observed Volcano

The Arabs who dominated Sicily for a long time called the volcano the Mountain of Fire, and Etna has certainly lived up to that name by regularly spewing white-hot lava from its depths. Two of the oldest surviving testimonies to Etna's activity were penned by Pindar and Aeschylus, who both described an eruption that took place in 475 BC. More than once, the lava has given an amazing performance by making a fiery snakelike trail down the mountain before diving into the sea. This occurred in 396 BC, in 1329, and in 1669 the last of which is considered the most famous of its modern eruptions.

On that occasion, a tongue of lava some 2 kilometres wide and 25 kilometres long over-flowed Catania's city walls, swallowed up the homes of more than 27,000 people, and partially filled the city's harbour.

By all accounts, the volcano's activity intensified in the 20th century, during which there were many eruptions. The most violent, in 1928, destroyed the village of Mascali. Over the past few years, lava and ash emissions have continued to cause problems and anxiety for the local people.

The Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi well described the attachment that people who live at the foot of a volcano have to their land. He likened such people to the broom, a bush that often grows in volcanic environments. its yellow flowers are beautiful and radiant. They hold their heads high and refuse to fall until the torrent of lava reaches them. Once the eruption is over and the rock has cooled, the broom starts to grow again, strong and courageous, as it patiently gets back to work!

Etna Is Changing

In the opinion of volcanologists, this "friendly giant" seems to be changing. In the recent past, Etna has not been explosive in character, according to a warning given by French and Italian researchers, Etna "is slowly transforming itself from an effusive volcano, which means one with a slow lava flow and low gas emissions, into an explosive volcano." Hence Paola Del Carlo, a researcher at the Italian National Geophysical and Volcanology Instute of Catania, states that :during the past 30 years, both the effusive and the explosive activity of the volcano have become decidedly more intense, and it is dufficult to predict with precision what will happen in the future.

Despite instilling fear and commanding respect, Etna offers an extraordinary spectacle. When enveloped in white in the winter or clothed in dark brown in the summer or when quietly dominating the coastline, shaking earth and hearts, or lighting up the nights with fire, the volcano testifies to the power of Nature.

If you ever have the chance to visit beautiful Sicily, do not forget Etna. You will see it in the distance with its characteristic plume of smoke. "Don't worry if you hear rumbling," the locals are quick to mention. "It's just Etna's way of saying hello."