Etna by Jeep: Exploring Craters and Lava Caves and Etna Wines

The 2001 eruptive vent emerges, a lunar landscape of basalt rocks. The warm soil underfoot and the smell of sulfur indicate active fumaroles. In front of us, the mouth is a lateral explosion crater, walls with layers of lava. Glowing rocks convey the dynamics of the magma that shaped this place. Although many years have passed, the eruptive vent is still active, with fumarolic activity and fractures in the ground. The landscape shows volcanological signs, such as the presence of volcanic bombs and new fractures. We stop, aware of the geological process. The eruptive vent, with its volcanological spectacle, offers a unique opportunity to understand the internal dynamics of the volcano. The panorama, dotted with lava formations, is a visual lesson in Etna's geological history. With this show in our hearts, we continue the journey, taking the memory of these places with us.

It is a vertically developing cavity located within the eruptive apparatus of the 1766 eruption of the Calcarazzi mountains, and like all cavities of this type, the walls are extremely unstable as they are made up of welded slag. In the eruptive fracture some magma remains which is consolidating, but a superficial part of the fracture can remain empty and accessible through the explosive or effusive vents, giving rise to a type of volcanic cave. Although the eruptive systems of Etna are very numerous, cavities of this type open only in a few of them, in fact most of the secondary craters remain occluded by the pyroclastic material at the end of their activity.

Once we reach the view over the Valle del Bove, the ancient caldera welcomes us like a geological amphitheatre. Layered walls of lava, pyroclasts and ash narrate the volcano's tumultuous history over the centuries. The formation of the caldera is the result of complex geological processes. During an eruption, rapid emptying of the magma chamber can cause collapse of the top, known as caldera collapse. This event creates the vast amphitheater-shaped depression, like the one we admire today in the Valle del Bove. Lava flows and pyroclastic deposits have further shaped the caldera over time. The view over the Valle del Bove becomes a window on the volcanological history of Etna, a story written in the rock stratifications. The magnitude of this geological formation offers a unique opportunity to explore the internal dynamics of one of the world's most active volcanoes.

é and red wines of Etna