Mongibello: composed of the Latin "mons" and the Arabic "giabal" (mountain), is another name of Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe.
Mt Etna tours are among the most chosen activities by tourists and trekking enthusiasts.
Lots of people would love to join Mt Etna tours at least once in their life … but why? Let’s find out more about its history, curiosities and origins!
Etna is the most majestic active volcano in Europe: all around the craters, the lava flows confirming the ceaseless activity of the volcano. It is also know as “Mongibello”.
Mt Etna Volcano dominates the entire province of Catania. It looks like an enormous black cone (white in winter), visible from 250 km away.
It is a impressive yet presence of which all of Catania’s inhabitants are just as proud of this natural treasure as they were in the past.
For the sailors Mt Etna in Sicily is “a natural lighthouse that does not need a lighthouse keeper”. Once, its sight alone was enough to navigate, no need for a compass. Thus, Mt Etna for Sicilian sailors worked as an “anemometer, because the direction in which the smoke drifted indicated the direction of the wind forces, also as a barometer because, the arrangement of the clouds along Mt Etna’s slopes, indicated the past rainfalls”.
The external structure of the Etna volcano has four craters: the Central Crater (the oldest one of the summit craters), the Bocca Nuova (formed in 1968), the North-East Crater (formed in 1911), and finally the youngest one, the South-East Crater (formed in 1971). This one in the last few years has considerably increased in height, due to frequent eruptions of the “Strombolian” type, which occurred in recent years.
Fatalism is fused with superstition, myths and legends but now through the constant monitoring of the area conducted by the Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, as well as technical interventions, it is possible to predict the volcanic activities, their importance and to take precautionary and preliminary action on the magma flows.
Today Mt Etna is one of the most chosen destinations of trekking excursions passionates all over the world. Furthermore, the Volcano is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you are curious and fascinated by the highest active volcano in Europe, we recommend to rely on experts and professionals. You would live a unique and inimitable experience with guided Mt Etna tours. It is impossible to compare the experience of a guided Etna tour to an individual visit! Trust expert guides and professionals who know all the secrets of the Volcano.