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The Etna also called Mongibello (3340 mt.), it is one of the greater active volcanos of the earth, biggest and the most elevated of Europe, it is an imposing conic relief that gets up isolated in shore to the Ionio sea, almost at the half of the Oriental Sicily's coast. At around 2900 mt. the cone is truncate, in a more remarkable way from the side west, from a vast highland, ancient crater elliptical, on which rises stately the terminal cone, in which opens the actual principal crater. The ray of visibility of the mountain is of around 150 miles; in the very clear days also 200 miles, so it constitutes an obligatory call for the look until from big distance, practically from all the edges of the Island from the point of the Calabria'speninsula and from the sea, beyond that from the Eolie islands. Wonderful is the picture that offers, especially in winter and spring, when the superior part of the cone is candid of snow, while the inferior part is blacked of lava or dressed again of luxuriant vegetation, between which inhabited centers and houses isolated rise. The show from the top to the rise of the Sun is fascinating, when the shade of the Volcano pushes beyond the center of the Island. For the terminal withered cone the meridian from central Europe, told also of Etna to 1 hour from Greenwich (15° E). Etna has an area of around 1570 Kmq; the base has a perimeter almost circular, of 212 Km, delimited to east from the sea, to north from the Alcàntara. to west and to south from the Simeto river. The myth set the forge of Efesto or Volcano on Etna and of the Ciclopi and under of him the giant Encelado or Tìfeo, that writhes and made tremble the ground and puffing caused the eruptions and the issues of smoke. The philosopher Empedocle (V century b.C.) would have thrown itself in the crater, that would have then thrown again in an explosion his sandal of bronze. |
| This page was last updated on November 23, 1997 |
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