Mount Etna, in Sicily, is the highest active volcano in Europe. Mount Etna has repeatedly erupted over the centuries, most violently in 1669, when the lava flow destroyed villages on the lower slope and submerged part of the town of Catania. Activity was almost continuous in the decade following 1971, and in 1983 an eruption that lasted four months prompted authorities to explode dynamite in an attempt to divert lava flows. Mount Etna also experienced violent eruptions in 2001/2002, prompting the Italian government to declare a state of emergency.
Mount Etna
