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Mt. Etna of Sicily (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
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By Niccolò Graffio
“What time does the volcano erupt?” – American tourist on Mt. Etna in 2000
When I was but a young lad there were two things (besides toy soldiers) that had my interest – dinosaurs and volcanoes. Looking around at other people’s children I could see I was hardly alone in that regard. As time went by I eventually lost my interest in both toy soldiers and dinosaurs, but not before I could rattle off the names of “terrible lizards” with the best of them!
I never overcame my fascination with volcanoes, though. The sight of these majestic, rumbling mountains still transfixes me to this day. Why I never became a volcanologist remains a mystery to me. The idea of getting up close to these beautiful but dangerous geologic phenomena is something I’ll probably never shake. It’s on my bucket list to visit an actual erupting volcano before I die, and there’s one in particular that has always held a special fascination for me.
Mt. Etna is the only active volcano located on the island of Sicily and one of only three active volcanoes in all of Italy. It is situated close to the cities of Messina and Catania on the eastern side of the island.
Etna is the tallest active volcano in Europe, being 2.5 times larger than Mt. Vesuvius located outside Naples. It is also the highest mountain located in Italy south the Alps, standing around a majestic 3,329m (10,922 ft) high.
Etna is also considered by many volcanologists to be one of the most active if not in fact the most active volcano in the world! The Sicani, one of the three ancient peoples of Sicily present at the time of Greek and Phoenician colonization of the island, where keenly aware of the presence of this volcano. The first eruption of Etna in recorded history, which began around 1,500 B.C., is believed to have been so intense it drove the bulk of the Sicani from the eastern part of Sicily to parts farther westward. The lands they abandoned were later occupied by the Siculi, the last of the peoples to settle Sicily before the coming of the Greeks and Phoenicians.
The mountain has erupted scores of times since; the last eruption beginning in 2007 and continuing to this day.
The ancient Greeks who settled the eastern part of the island wherein the mountain resides looked upon rumbling Etna as an object of wonder! Numerous, fanciful tales arose to explain the cone’s almost non-stop activity. Hephaestus, the Olympian god of fire and the forge, was believed to have kept his workshop inside the vents of the volcano, hence his epithet Aetnaeus by the Greek colonists of Sicily.
Another story goes that mighty Zeus trapped Typhon, the “Father of all monsters” underneath Etna after an epic battle between the two. Still another holds that Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and battle arts, buried the giant Enkelados underneath Etna after defeating and wounding him during the Gigantomakhia, the titanic struggle between the Olympian gods and the Gigantes, a race of giants, over universal supremacy. Greek parents on Sicily would tell their children that whenever Mt. Etna erupted it was merely Enkelados groaning in pain from his wounds. It should be noted to this day in Greece an earthquake is often called a “strike of Enkelados”.
There is disagreement over the etymology of the name Etna. Some believe it originated in an ancient Greek phrase which means “I burn”. Adrian Room, author of the book Place-names of the World, believes it actually had its origins in the Phoenician word attuna, which means “furnace”. Given the fact the Phoenicians, to my knowledge anyway, never occupied that part of the island, I’d like to know how he came up with that one. More than likely it had its origins in the indigenous Sicilian phrase aith-na, “the fiery one”, which subsequently passed into the vernacular of the Greeks who supplanted the Sicani and Siculi who came before them.
However, there can be no doubt this mountain was the archetype for all other volcanoes documented since then. The ancient Romans, like the Greeks, believed their fire god kept his forge in Etna. His name was Vulcan, and it is from his name we get the word ‘volcano’.
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| The Forge of Vulcan by Luca Giordano Photo courtesy of Wikipedia |
The natives of Sicily like to refer to Mt. Etna as the “friendly giant” because its eruptions, at least in modern times, have rarely been harmful. This is in stark contrast to Etna’s sister, Mt. Vesuvius, the “Evil Old Lady of Italy” to the north in Campania. In fact, Etna’s eruptions have been quite beneficial to the people living around its base. As is the case with many other volcanoes, the slopes surrounding it are covered with fertile, mineral-rich soil. The locals have taken advantage of this to create an extensive agricultural system that includes orchards and vineyards. The Plain of Catania, a recipient of a large, ancient lava flow from Etna, is noted for the bounty of its fields.
To be sure, Mt. Etna wasn’t always this friendly. In geologic terms it is what is known as a stratovolcano or composite volcano. This is a volcano that is formed in alternating explosive and effusive eruptions. The result is a cone that towers over 10,000 feet high!
Geologists estimate the first eruptions associated with Mt. Etna began almost 500,000 years ago. Over ensuing millennia the volcano’s center shifted until about 170,000 years ago when it reached its present location. In the interim there were numerous phases of mountain-building that always ended in massive eruptions causing the collapse of the crater, forming calderas.
Between 35,000-15,000 years ago the volcano went through an especially intense phase of explosive eruptions causing large pyroclastic flows over much of the eastern part of Sicily. Ash from these eruptions have been found as far north as Lazio, about 800km (497 miles) away!
Around 8000 years ago a particularly massive eruption caused the eastern flank of the volcano to collapse, forming what is now known as the ‘Valle del Bove’ (It: Valley of the Ox). This eruption also triggered a mega-tsunami that caused extensive flooding throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Friendly giant indeed!
Etna’s most destructive eruption in recent centuries occurred on March 11, 1669 when lava flows from the volcano destroyed a number of villages before reaching the walls of the city of Catania on April 15th, damaging some outer parts of the town. Thankfully, no one seems to have been killed.
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| Mt. Vesuvius (Photo by New York Scugnizzo) |
Though casualties have been few in recent centuries, Etna’s habit of erupting, plus its past blow-ups, have authorities taking no chances. Mt. Etna is one of 16 volcanoes that has been designated a Decade Volcano by the UN. A Decade Volcano is a volcano that, due to its destructive past history and proximity to large populations, is worthy of close study. Vesuvius, Etna’s bad-tempered sister to the north, is another one.
Speaking of Vesuvius, when I visited Rome and Southern Italy in the fall of 2010 I had the thrill of standing at the base of this now (thankfully) quiet volcano. I hope it stays that way forever. If the Fates decree that one day it should again awaken, let us hope it does so in a more agreeable manner, like its sisters Stromboli and Etna.
In the meantime, however, I am saving my money while staring at travel folders for the island of Sicily, thinking about the days when I can soon stand on the slopes of her friendly giant, looking and listening for the rumblings of Enkelados. My camera is ready.
Further reading:
1) George Farrer Rodwell: Etna. A history of the mountain and its eruptions…With maps and illustrations; British Library, Historical Print Editions, 2011
