Val Calanna

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

There is no doubt that in terms of time, volcanoes have been on Earth for much longer than the human race, who chose these geological structures as the territory to found their cities, including thanks to the fertile soil .
However, humans often forget that they have built in a place where sooner or later the volcano might make them pay for this “intrusion”.
Therefore, we must always remember that volcanoes are not “bad” because they threaten our inhabited areas, but that we live in a system that is alive and continuously evolving, and we must integrate ourselves into the surrounding environment and respect Nature to make sure we do not suffer damage and loss.

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

The living mountain

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

The continuous evolution of the Etna summit craters

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

Lachea Island and the Aci Trezza Stacks

Acireale and its “timpe”

The 1669 eruption in Catania

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

An ever-evolving volcano

The senses tell The Etna Viewpoint

Etna: a marvellous group of different types of flora

Acireale and reconstruction after the 1693 earthquake

The fault system of the “Timpe” of Acireale

The senses tell The summit craters

Etna, a natural laboratory where experiments can be carried out

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

Valle del Leone and the Elliptical

The earthquake that changed the geography of eastern Sicily in 1693

The Grand Tour in Sicily

The Red Mountains and the destructive eruption of 1669

Empedocles and his passion for Etna

Summit crater activity between 2011 and 2019

The senses tell The Red Mountains

The senses tell Val Calanna

The senses tell Valle del Leone

The different names of the “Muntagna”

The Elliptical, the first great volcano of Etna

The Jaci river

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

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

The senses tell Acireale

A fauna yet to be discovered

The eruption of 1928 that destroyed the town of Mascali

The senses tell Acicastello and Acitrezza

Malavoglia

The “notches” of snow

The Etna viewpoint

The senses tell Torre del Filosofo