WHL

Criteria for including Mount Etna in the WHL

Phnom Penh (Cambodia), 16-27 June 2013
Mount Etna World Heritage Site (19,237 hectare) comprises the most strictly protected and scientifically important area of Mount Etna, and forms part of the Parco dell’Etna Regional Nature Park. Mount Etna is renowned for its exceptional level of volcanic activity, and the documentation of its activity over at least 2,700 years. Its notoriety, scientific importance, and cultural and educational value are of global significance.

Justification of the inscription
Criterion (viii): Mount Etna is one of the world’s most active and iconic volcanoes, and an outstanding example of ongoing geological processes and volcanic landforms. The stratovolcano is characterised by almost continuous eruptive activity from its summit craters and fairly frequent lava flow eruptions from craters and fissures on its flanks. This exceptional volcanic activity has been documented by humans for at least 2,700 years – making it one of the world’s longest documented records of historical volcanism. The diverse and accessible assemblage of volcanic features such as summit craters, cinder cones, lava flows, lava caves and the Valle de Bove depression have made Mount Etna a prime destination for research and education. Today Mount Etna is one of the best studied and monitored volcanoes in the world, and continues to influence volcanology, geophysics and other earth science disciplines. Mount Etna’s notoriety, scientific importance, and cultural and educational value are of global significance.
(Source: http://whc.unesco.org)

Etna, the living mountain

The senses tell Acicastello and Acitrezza

Criteria for including Mount Etna in the WHL

The senses tell Torre del Filosofo

Acireale and its “timpe”

Etna, wine terroir of excellence

The senses tell Val Calanna

The senses tell Acireale

Valle del Leone and the Elliptical

The “notches” of snow

The senses tell The Red Mountains

The eruption of 1928 that destroyed the town of Mascali

An ever-evolving volcano

The Elliptical, the first great volcano of Etna

An ever-evolving volcano

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

The first Etnean volcanic events between Aci Castello and Aci Trezza

The Grand Tour in Sicily

Summit crater activity between 2011 and 2019

The Elliptical, the first great volcano of Etna

The 1669 eruption in Catania

The senses tell Acicastello and Acitrezza

Summit crater activity between 2011 and 2019

The different names of the “Muntagna”

The Jaci river

Malavoglia

Empedocles and his passion for Etna

Etna, an ever-changing natural laboratory

The senses tell The Red Mountains

Etna, a natural laboratory where experiments can be carried out

The Jaci river

The earthquake that changed the geography of eastern Sicily in 1693

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

The senses tell The summit craters

Malavoglia

The senses tell Acireale

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

The continuous evolution of the Etna summit craters

Acireale and reconstruction after the 1693 earthquake

A fauna yet to be discovered

Lachea Island and the Aci Trezza Stacks

The different names of the “Muntagna”

A fauna context yet to be discovered

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

The living mountain

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

The “notches” of snow

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

The senses tell The Etna viewpoint

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

The Grand Tour in Sicily

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

The Etna viewpoint

The senses tell Val Calanna

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

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

The continuous evolution of the Etna summit craters

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

The Red Mountains and the destructive eruption of 1669

Lachea Island and the Aci Trezza Stacks

Volcanic monitoring and eruption forecasting

Acireale and its “timpe”

The 1669 eruption in Catania

Empedocles and his passion for Etna

The senses tell Torre del Filosofo

The Etna viewpoint

Why did Etna form in that specific geographical position?

Valle del Leone and the Elliptical

Etna: a marvellous group of different types of flora

The fault system of the “Timpe” of Acireale

The Red Mountains and the destructive eruption of 1669

The eruption of 1928 that destroyed the town of Mascali

Etna: a marvellous group of microclimates and vegetation

Acireale and reconstruction after the 1693 earthquake

The fault system of the “Timpe” of Acireale

The senses tell The Summit craters

The earthquake that changed the geography of eastern Sicily in 1693

The senses tell The Etna Viewpoint

The senses tell Valle del Leone

The senses tell Valle del Leone