The Summit Craters

The eruption of 1928 that destroyed the town of Mascali

“Between 6 and 7 November 1928, the town of Mascali, located on the lower eastern slope of Etna, was erased from topographic maps after it was submerged by a lava flow.
In 1928, the town of Mascali stood on a hill at 120 metres above sea level, and had around 3,000 inhabitants dedicated to the cultivation of the countryside and the transformation of citrus fruits into calcium citrate and essences at the many industrial facilities.
On the north-eastern side of Etna, on 2 November, a system of eruptive and dry fissures formed, measuring a total of 7.7 kilometres in the ENE-WSW direction. The eruption was preceded and accompanied by intense explosive activity in the north-east crater. On the same day, the first segment of the eruptive fissure formed in the Valle del Leone, at an altitude of 2600 metres above sea level. Just 450 metres long, the fissure remained active for under one hour and produced a small lava flow. On 3 November, the second segment of the fissure, this time 3.2 kilometres long, opened up in Serra delle Concazze, between 2300 and 1560 metres above sea level. This segment was active for around 20 hours and produced a lava flow of 3.8 kilometres.
On the evening of 4 November, the third segment of the fissure opened, just 100 metres long and at an even lower altitude (1200 metres above sea level) in Ripa della Naca. At half past eleven on 5 November, the flow had reached a length of 6 kilometres and was advancing at 0.46 kilometres per hour. The active front had descended to an altitude of 350 metres above sea level. That day, the town of Mascali was evacuated.
At half past ten, the flow had covered 7.3 kilometres and the front was at an altitude of 130 metres above sea level, around 200 metres from the first dwellings in Mascali. Between 6 and 7 November, the lava flow buried the village for good.
For the first time at Etna an eruption was also monitored through a series of aerial overflights at the specific request of Gaetano Ponte. Also for the first time, by order of the Prefect of Catania, official information about the evolution of the eruptive phenomena was provided by the Etnean Volcanological Institute through the production of daily bulletins.
Immediately after the end of the eruption and especially following an initial moment of confusion, the Fascist government decided to rebuild the town further downstream, along the Messina-Catania state road, in its eagerness to show Italy and foreign nations its technical-organisational skills in facing the emergency caused by the destructive event.
The 1928 eruption is the only eruptive event since the 18th century to cause the destruction of an inhabited place on Etna.”

The senses tell Acicastello and Acitrezza

The eruption of 1928 that destroyed the town of Mascali

Etna, the living mountain

Etna, wine terroir of excellence

Malavoglia

The senses tell Val Calanna

Why did Etna form in that specific geographical position?

The earthquake that changed the geography of eastern Sicily in 1693

The Jaci river

The Elliptical, the first great volcano of Etna

The senses tell The Etna viewpoint

The different names of the “Muntagna”

The Etna viewpoint

The senses tell Valle del Leone

The Grand Tour in Sicily

Acireale and reconstruction after the 1693 earthquake

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

The senses tell The Summit craters

The fault system of the “Timpe” of Acireale

Summit crater activity between 2011 and 2019

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

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

An ever-evolving volcano

Lachea Island and the Aci Trezza Stacks

The “notches” of snow

The 1669 eruption in Catania

The first Etnean volcanic events between Aci Castello and Aci Trezza

Etna, an ever-changing natural laboratory

Empedocles and his passion for Etna

The Red Mountains and the destructive eruption of 1669

The continuous evolution of the Etna summit craters

A fauna context yet to be discovered

The senses tell Torre del Filosofo

The senses tell Acireale

The senses tell The Red Mountains

The 2001 eruption of Mount Etna, where the approach to volcanoes changed

Acireale and its “timpe”

Etna: a marvellous group of microclimates and vegetation

Volcanic monitoring and eruption forecasting

Valle del Leone and the Elliptical