Stromboli

Stromboli is a volcano in the Mediterranean, north of Sicily. It is part of an arc of volcanoes in and off western Italy. The most infamous one is Vesuvius, which last erupted in 1944 and is now feared to be building up to a major eruption. The southernmost is Etna, which has an eruption every few years, changing the landscape on its slopes beyond recognition. I visited the mountain in 2001, and each and every place I went to above 2,000 metres is now covered in up to 500 feet of lava.

Stromboli is continually active, spewing out chunks of lava every 15 minutes or so from the craters at the summit. It was reported today, that the volcano had grown more active. Stromboli can be visited quite safely, to within 120 metres of the crater mouths, which hundreds do each year. Five years ago, Stromboli put on its nasty face and mounted a major eruption. It caused a tsunami of 10 metres / 35 feet in height, which brought about a lot of damage.

A similar event appears to be in progress at the moment. Two new craters have opened at the summit, and lava is flowing out. Authorities are monitoring both sea and land closely, but unlike in 2002, an evacuation does not appear to be necessary.

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