01 / Now
Live data
Real-time weather and seismic activity from Rifugio Sapienza
Weather at Rifugio Sapienza (1,923 m)
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Seismic Activity - Volcanic Tremor
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Official bulletins
To know what the volcano is doing and whether there are aviation notices, read the sources directly.
Weather from Open-Meteo. The tremor charts are the official ones published by INGV; no data is simulated.
02 / In numbers
The volcano in numbers
Stable data and data that changes: where it changes, you will find the date.
3.300–3.400
metres in height
It changes with every eruption. July 2024: INGV measured 3,369 m on the rim of the Voragine (it may have changed since).
4
summit craters
North-East, Voragine, Bocca Nuova and South-East.
500.000
years since the first eruptions
The first phase was submarine; the present edifice formed about 57,000 years ago.
2013
UNESCO World Heritage
19,237 hectares protected, criterion (viii): one of the longest documented eruptive histories.
59.000
hectares of Park
Etna Park, established in 1987, covers 20 municipalities.
2.700+
years of documented history
According to UNESCO, at least 2,700 years of documented eruptions.
03 / History
The great eruptions
Some moments that shaped the area, from the 1600s to today.
- 1614–1624
The decade of the Sciara del Follone
The longest flank eruption of recent centuries: about ten years of activity, which formed an enormous lava field.
- 1669
The most destructive of the historical era
In about four months roughly 600 million m³ of lava covered 40 km² and ran for 17 km. Nine towns were destroyed and the medieval walls of Catania diverted the flow.
- 1886
Nicolosi evacuated
A lateral vent opened at about 1,400 m: the lava reached the first houses of Nicolosi and the town was evacuated.
- 1928
The end of Mascali
Eighteen days of eruption: an 8 km long lava flow completely destroyed Mascali and the hamlets of Pietrafucile and Costa Sovara.
- 1991–1993
Saving Zafferana Etnea
The largest volume of lava since 1669. To protect Zafferana, intervention was made to stop and divert the flow, in an operation that became famous.
- 2001 e 2002–03
Two flank eruptions with a lot of ash
Eruptions on the south and north-east flanks, with intense and prolonged explosive activity.
- 2018
Eruption and earthquake
From 24 December a short eruption in the Valle del Bove; on 26 December a magnitude 4.9 earthquake on the Fiandaca fault damaged buildings and infrastructure from Fleri to Santa Maria la Stella.
- 2021 e 2024
The South-East and then the Voragine
In 2021 the South-East Crater rose to about 3,354 m (a value corrected in 2023). After the July 2024 paroxysms, the eastern rim of the Voragine was measured at 3,369 m, the highest elevation recorded up to that time.
- 2025–2026
A volcano that never stops
In 2025 and 2026 too, INGV reported new eruptive phases, with lava flows and explosive activity at the summit craters. To know what is happening today, always read the latest bulletin.
04 / How it works
How it erupts
Etna has several ways of being active: understanding them helps in reading the bulletins.
Persistent activity
A continuous release of gas from the summit craters. It sometimes evolves into low-energy Strombolian activity, with small explosions and ejections of incandescent material.
Lava fountains
"Terminal" or "sub-terminal" eruptions: they occur at or near the summit craters, with lava jets and an ash column.
Paroxysms
Particularly intense phases of explosive activity. They can produce ash clouds kilometres high and lead to the closure of roads and parts of the airspace.
Flank eruptions
Vents open on the flanks of the volcano: "lateral" if fed by the central conduit, "eccentric" otherwise. These are the ones that can reach inhabited areas.
The four summit craters
Until the early 1900s there was only one crater, the Central Crater. Today there are four, and each has its own story.
North-East
It formed in 1911.
Voragine
Formed in 1945 inside the old Central Crater. Its eastern rim reached 3,369 m in July 2024.
Bocca Nuova
It opened in 1968, next to the Voragine, in the same Central Crater.
South-East
Born in 1971, in recent years it has been one of the most active, with numerous paroxysms.
05 / The landscape
The Valle del Bove
A gigantic horseshoe-shaped depression of about 7 × 4.5 km on Etna's eastern flank.
It was created by several collapses of the volcano's flank in the Holocene: the landslide deposit that marks its beginning has been radiocarbon-dated to between 7478 and 7134 BC. The floor is almost entirely covered by the lava flows of the most recent flank eruptions.
The easiest way to look out over the valley is the route of the Schiena dell’Asino.
06 / Nature
The Etna Park
Established in March 1987, it covers about 59,000 hectares. From the woodlands to the black sands at high altitude.
Woodlands
Pines, holm oaks, downy oaks, beeches and oaks. Higher up grows an endemic birch.
At high altitude
Around 2,300 m the Sicilian milk-vetch ("spino santo") grows; towards 3,000 m the dock colonises the basaltic sands.
Mammals
Fox, porcupine, dormouse, hedgehog, wild rabbit, hare and the wildcat, threatened in Sicily.
Birds
Golden eagle, peregrine falcon, common buzzard, kestrel, sparrowhawk, barn owl, scops owl, long-eared owl, tawny owl and black redstart.
07 / Reading the notices
The colours of the VONA
The VONA (Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation) is a notice for aviation: the colour describes the state of the volcano for those who fly, not the danger for those who walk.
Green
Volcano in normal conditions, with no eruptive activity.
Yellow
Activity above the known baseline level, or decreasing after an eruption.
Orange
Activity increasing with a higher probability of eruption, or an eruption under way with little or no ash.
Red
Imminent eruption with probable significant ash emission, or eruption under way with significant ash.
Definitions of the international colour code for aviation (ICAO). For trails and craters, what matters are the INGV bulletins, the ordinances and the guides' advice. Updated notices are on INGV – VONA notices.
08 / Who monitors it
Monitoring by scientists
Etna is one of the most studied and monitored volcanoes in the world.
Geophysical monitoring
Seismic networks record earthquakes and volcanic tremor, signals of magma movement. GPS and satellite radar (InSAR) measure the ground deformation caused by magmatic pressure.
Geochemical monitoring
Multi-GAS stations measure volcanic gases such as SO₂, CO₂ and H₂S in real time: their ratios can give early signals of rising magma.
Satellite observation
Thermal cameras and optical sensors track temperatures, lava flows and ash dispersal. The digital terrain model is updated after every eruption.
Laboratory analysis
Lava and ash samples are analysed to study minerals, composition and magma mixing processes.
09 / Culture
Myths and flavours
The volcano has shaped legends, wines and cuisine.
Hephaestus and the Cyclopes
For the Greeks, Etna was the forge of Hephaestus, the god of fire. According to tradition, the Cyclops Polyphemus lived on the volcano: the sea stacks of Aci Trezza are called the "Islands of the Cyclopes", the boulders hurled at Odysseus.
Typhon under the mountain
In myth, Zeus imprisoned the giant Typhon beneath Etna: the rumblings and columns of fire are said to be his breath.
Etna DOC
Etna DOC, Sicily's first DOC, was established in 1968. The red comes mainly from Nerello Mascalese, the white from Carricante; the vineyards climb from 450 to 1,100 m.
Flavours of the volcano
The volcanic soil yields typical products of the Etna towns: pistachios, citrus fruit, orange-blossom honey, cheeses. You can also find them on the page Where to eat.
10 / Questions
Frequently asked questions
Sources
Where we checked
Texts rewritten by us from these public sources; data verified in October 2026. The volcano's activity changes: for today's situation the latest INGV bulletin always applies.
- INGV – Osservatorio Etneo: bulletins and reports
- UNESCO – Mount Etna (World Heritage, 2013)
- INGV – The Valle del Bove
- Geopop – Etna has a new summit (3,369 m)
- Geopop – Etna: volcano and eruptive activity
- MeteoWeb – The historical-era eruptions of Etna
- Touring Club Italiano – Etna Park
- Etna DOC (Wikipedia)