Etna Never Stops

Almost a year ago, Mount Etna erupted. Again. Located in the island of Sicily, there's no sign of this volcano becoming inactive.

"A spreading bay is there, impregnable

To all invading storms; and Aetna's throat

With roar of frightful ruin thunders nigh.

Now to the realm of light it lifts a cloud

Of pitch-black, whirling smoke, and fiery dust,

Shooting out globes of flame, with monster tongues

That lick the stars; now huge crags of itself,

Out of the bowels of the mountain torn,

Its maw disgorges, while the molten rock

Rolls screaming skyward; from the nether deep

The fathomless abyss makes ebb and flow."

- Virgil's description of Mount Etna's eruption in the Aeneid

In Greek mythology, Typhon, the Father of All Monsters, wanted to destroy Zeus, the ruler of Olympians of Mount Olympus. The god of sky and thunder imprisoned the Titans, descendants of Uranus and Gaia, and Typhon happened to be Gaia's last son. His attempts were at his mother's will. Zeus was defeated, but he prevailed on their next battle, trapping Typhon underneath Mount Etna. It is believed that the deadliest monster (in Greek mythology) is responsible for the (volcanic) forces in Etna, as well as the other ones in other parts of the world.

Etna's eruptions have been regular since the dawn of civilization. Pindar and Aeschylus, poet and tragedian respectively, wrote about its eruption in 475 B.C. It also made another appearance in the records, in 396 B.C., when eruption prevented the Carthaginian army from reaching Catania. There were fourteen recorded eruptions between 1,500 B.C. and the start of the Christian era, and sixty times during the Medieval era, both of which may be far from the actual figure. It would be hard to figure it out, as the mountain, almost 11,000 feet tall, is covered with snow. Nonetheless, Etna's history prompted the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) to name it a Decade Volcano, worthy of study for its long history of eruptions, which will help IAVCEI in understanding these ruptures in the Earth's crust, the dangers they present, and how both can help in reducing the severity of natural disasters. (Vesuvius and Stromboli, the other active volcanoes in Italy, are also under the study of IAVCEI.)

In June 2013, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added Mount Etna to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which cited places of cultural or physical significance. It was the recent addition to the list of World Heritage Sites in Italy, which included the Castel del Monte, the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy, Cinque Terre, Hadrian's Villa and the Dolomites (in northeastern Italy). It's only one of the few natural attractions in the list, confirming Etna's status as Sicily's top tourist attraction despite the danger it can pose. After all, the volcano looks stunning from any angle in a photograph, with an amphitheater (or ruined temple) in the foreground. Climbing it can turn out to be a memorable experience. (Ask Nanni Moretti, after his ascent of Stromboli in "Caro diario".)