Mount Etna

Etna, a natural laboratory where experiments can be carried out

Etna is one of the most active and well-known volcanoes in the world and a wonderful example of how the Earth is still under construction, with it emitting new magma every second.
This volcano is characterised by practically constant eruptive activity from its summit craters, and periodic emissions of lava from its lower altitudes.
These are the reasons why Etna was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013.
One of its main characteristics is the continuous change in the type of volcanic activity , from totally effusive to highly explosive, in addition to its high number of eruptions. All characteristics that in the last 50 years, since the birth of the scientific discipline of Volcanology , have led Etna to become one of the most well-known and used natural laboratories in the world.
Both in traditional popular culture and in science, the name Etna is always associated with the word “Mount”, or “Muntagna” in Sicilian dialect.
This is because, with its approximately 3350 metres of elevation above sea level, Mount Etna is practically visible from all of Sicily and a good part of Ionian Calabria.
l'Etna da lontano

Torre del Filosofo: at the base of the summit craters (2950 metres)

The senses tell Valle del Leone

The senses tell The Etna Viewpoint

The 2001 eruption of Etna, when the Mountain seemed to be alive

Etna, a natural laboratory where experiments can be carried out

The senses tell Acireale

The fault system of the “Timpe” of Acireale

An ever-evolving volcano

The senses tell Torre del Filosofo

Etna: a marvellous group of different types of flora

Valle del Leone and the Elliptical

Val Calanna, the first step towards a single large volcanic structure

The earthquake that changed the geography of eastern Sicily in 1693

Acireale and its “timpe”

The 1669 eruption in Catania

The senses tell The Red Mountains

A fauna yet to be discovered

The living mountain

Why is Etna one of the most studied volcanoes in the world?

The Jaci river

Lachea Island and the Aci Trezza Stacks

Summit crater activity between 2011 and 2019

Acireale and reconstruction after the 1693 earthquake

The first volcanic structures of Etna, between Aci Castello and Aci Trezza

The senses tell Acicastello and Acitrezza

The senses tell Val Calanna

Empedocles and his passion for Etna

The eruption of 1928 that destroyed the town of Mascali

Humankind and the volcano: how should we behave? Volcanic risk

The Etna viewpoint

The senses tell The summit craters

The Grand Tour in Sicily

The continuous evolution of the Etna summit craters

The different names of the “Muntagna”

Malavoglia

The world’s first (almost successful) attempt to stop a lava flow: the eruption of 1991-93

The Red Mountains and the destructive eruption of 1669

The Elliptical, the first great volcano of Etna

The “notches” of snow