Catania and Mount Etna

The city of Catania and Mount Etna volcano looming over it in the background,
from our ship around sunrise.

Mount Etna, or Montebello, is by far the largest volcano in Italy and is also the tallest active volcano in Europe. It is located on the east coast of the island of Sicily and forms an impressive backdrop for the city of Catania. It is among the most active volcanos in the world, so given the opportunity to actually go up to the top, we did!

From Catania we took a coach ride high up the mountain to the cable car station. The cable car took us vertically to a meeting point and a four-wheel drive transport

The four-wheel drive vehicle took us further up the volcano to another drop off point. Here we were joined by a mountain guide who took us up the volcano and on for a walk inside the most recent eruption point crater. It was really cold up there and the wind was so strong that it was hard work just to stay on our feet. The sights on the other hand were otherworldly and well worth the effort to get here.

Mount Etna is an active volcano with hot gasses pouring out of the top of it,
just like in the Flintstones

Our mountain guide taking us toward the top.

We were surprised at the great colors in the lava deposits.

Our destination, a dramatic sight over 10,000 feet above the city of Catania