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"The ground is inflamed and burns ..., again the raging flames and its violent vomit of fire throws its flaming rays into the skies . " Lucretius (Roman philosopher and poet).
When Sicily was not yet an island and still remained attached to the great continental mass of Pangea, Etna was probably already a volcano. Much later, approximately 300,000 years ago , the great mountain - then about 4,000 meters high and 90 kilometers base - split colossally in two; collapsing its eastern half over the sea and creating, on the spot, a gigantic wave (tsunami) of more than 200 meters high that, today, traveling at 1,000 kilometers per hour would have devastated, in a few minutes, a good part of southern Italy.
As a consequence of that huge cataclysm , the immense Valle del Bove was formed and the island grew tens of kilometers to the east; practically everything that is currently the lowlands that go from Catania to the vicinity of Taormina.
Since those turbulent and remote times the volcano has never stopped accompanying the inhabitants of the island with its disturbing breath. Etna has been active since man occupied Sicily until today, all the civilizations that have passed through the island throughout history ( Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans ... ) knew and suffered the bad moods of this fabulous mountain of fire.
An intimidating presence
Over the past 2,000 years, over 200 major eruptions have been documented. In the last twenty years alone, there have been more than 10 of importance; highlighting, among all, the one that in 1991 forced the evacuation of Zafferana Etnea, one of the most densely populated populations in the area. On that occasion, the immense lava deposit that flooded the entire Bove Valley threatened to overflow its limits and flow deadly towards the town. However, the permanent intimidating presence of the mountain has never completely intimidated the man who, century after century, has been stealing land from the colossus and prospering at its expense, taking advantage of the fertile volcanic lands that extend throughout its length and breadth. slopes.
This huge, furious neighbor has been and is everything for those who live nearby; a god, a symbol, an ally, a benefactor, an inspiration ... but also a threat, a murderer, a demon . Etna welcomed the new millennium by celebrating all its birthdays with tremendous activity. During 2001, 2002, 2003 and, of course, 2004, it erupted repeatedly. It constantly lives up to its status as the largest active volcano in Europe.
I recently visited Etna again. It is not the first time that I do it and I hope it is not the last. For some years now, my friend Miguel and I have made a habit of visiting this fascinating mountain whenever it invites us with its eruptions . On previous occasions we had arrived at the site somewhat after the activity had ended.
In those cases, we could only see the small or large consequences of the new natural event . For example, abrupt and forceful modification of the landscape that occurred as a result of the eruption of 2002, when lava flows arising from new mouths appeared on the north face of the volcano had reduced to nothing the installation of the observatory Linguaglossa and finished with a thick coniferous forest in the area. Or as in 2001, when in front of the Piano Provenzana refuge , on the south face of the mountain, the flows from the new volcanic cones had buried the cable car line that, until then, had climbed the terrain to the middle of the slope.
This year everything was going to be different. After its last eruption Etna was still in full activity and we were there. Already from the same plane, in the middle of a night approach to the Catania airport , we had been able to see how a huge red scar dramatically marked the south face of the mountain.
Towards the summit and the lava fountains
Until now, we have never managed to reach the top of Etna before; because the bad weather conditions had always prevented us. On the other hand, the highest and most intimate area of the volcano seems to preserve its nakedness with an almost perennial cloud cover that covers everything.
Filippo, our guide, warned us that this time he could not guarantee us the summit either. Although the activity of the volcano was located in a series of open fissures far from the highest part of the mountain; the emission of gases had intensified so much in the main craters that the atmosphere at the top had become completely unbreathable. This time, whether or not to climb, depended not so much on the weather but on the direction in which the wind blew.
From Piano Provenzana we climb a part of the mountain by funicular , until we reach 2,200 meters of altitude . With a special vehicle we reached, shortly after, the level of 2,800. Once there we had to make the decision to try the summit -which was seen curdled with fumes-, or give it up. In view of the conditions that were observed, Filippo still did not seem very convinced to start the march. When after much hesitation we started walking, the wind began to blow gently from the northwest; making the early morning sun hide behind the dense columns of smoke.
The ascent was slow and laborious. The steep terrain, made up entirely of fine volcanic ash - lapilli- , made the foot sink and slide constantly, thereby tensioning the calves and giving the sensation of little or no progress. The wind continued on our part while, slowly and stealthily, as if fooling the mountain, we went, little by little, winning the summit on its northeast side.
Between thick smokescreens
After an hour and a half of laborious ascent we finally reached the top of the current 3,350 meters of Etna. There, at the top, the panorama was imposing and overwhelming: thick curtains of smoke invaded the place, suffocating the four main craters at the top. Everywhere rabid volcanic colors leaped aggressively into view: wild sulphurous yellows, boiling crimson infernos, charred whites ... The atmosphere was unbreathable. Even wearing the masks on, it was difficult to get air without coughing dramatically.
Suddenly, amid the whistling and dry hoarseness of the fumaroles, something different began to be heard. The guide turned to us demanding silence and putting all his attention on that mysterious buzz. Finally we understood that the source of the suspicious sound was none other than that of a simple plane that was flying over us at that time.
When we made Filippo see what we thought was excessive alarmism on his part; Looking at us very seriously, he told us that the volcano was in a critical phase of enormous potential activity and that some of the sounds that always preceded the great eruptions were very similar to the deep, hoarse noise of an airplane flying at mid-altitude. Then we learned that some of the strongest eruptions in recent years had surprised our friend Filippo on the mountain, making him live really committed moments.
Shortly after all that we started a wild and irrepressible race, descending vertiginously the slope of the volcano. A fantastic and fun slalom over ash powder. The journey that had taken us about two hours to climb, we had just undone it in less than ten minutes. Now we were in the vicinity of the two fissures that had been expelling lava for almost a month.
At 200 meters from the main fissure the view was captivating and disturbing . The ragged profile of a rock formation stood out darkly against a background of milky smoke that hid the west slope . At the mouth of the fissure the first impression was of disbelief . We were there, there was no doubt about that and, of course, we looked at something, but what we were contemplating did not seem to be true. The mind denied the senses. How was it possible that we were seeing that gush of incandescent magma emerge less than three or four meters from us? How could it be that we were perched on those volcanic crusts that a few hours before had flowed at more than 1000 degrees?
On the lava spring
The few stretches of solidified lava on which we moved were so hot that we could not remain more than a moment on them; otherwise the heat became unbearable and the soles of the boots threatened to melt . We did not tire of observing that incredible spring of liquefied rocks that arose relentlessly and rushed kilometers below filling the entire Valle del Bove with uncertainty and beauty.
It shook me to think that if at any time that terrible red jet gained something in emitting force, we could not count it. And that was not just words; it was not an exaggeration. In fact, it was finally so likely that, hours after we walked over the first hardened castings, the fissure grew so abruptly and spectacularly that, in an instant, the lava field formed days ago was buried under a new trail of liquid fire that, shortly after, split into two magnificent tongues of incarnate and fatal light.
Today, three months after those moments, the open wound on the side of Etna continues to bleed the volcano in a formidable and continuous telluric hemorrhage . At the summit, meanwhile, amid a confusion of clouds and smoke, the mountain continues to grow, piling new ashes on the old perpetual snows , while the December snows in turn cover the summer ashes.
A whole infinite carousel of primitive natural forces, in which the cold builds incessantly on heat and heat on cold. Etna is still alive.
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