VOLCANOES
“What happens if it erupts while we’re
there?” asks Sam (7). It’s a fair question.
Standing 10,912t in height, Mount Etna is
Europe’s largest active volcano, a monster of
a mountain that’s both blasted and sustained
life on Sicily for millennia. In fact, the gnarly
black rocks on the local snorkelling beach
were once spat out by this beast, and iery
eruptions can still light up the night skies.
So naturally, as we approach the peak by car,
there’s a little trepidation. “The volcanologists
are able to tell when there’s any danger,” I say,
reassuring myself as much as the kids.
Reaching the upper slopes, Sicily’s chaotic
traic thins out. The temperature drops. At
6,200t, we park up at Rifugio Sapienza — a
staging post for visits, and ski resort in winter.
A cable-car whisks us up over the post-
apocalyptic moonscape to 8,200t, where a
4WD bus then climbs the last leg to 9,500t.
Here, a guide walks us around the rim of
a crater, explaining Etna’s irst eruptions
occurred more than 500,000 years ago. Our
shoes crunch over warm, bony nuggets ofCable-car, Mount Etnarock. An eggy smell of sulphur ills the air,
and patches of red, oxidised earth lie like
giant stains across the landscape. We take
selies in the wind, hair all over the place.
Sam ends up wearing three tops and my
sweater, and he’s still cold.
It’s amazing how interwoven this post-
apocalyptic peak is with life on Sicily. Before
our trip, the kids knew volcanoes from books
and TV, but now it feels like we understand
them in 4D. People who live nearby simply
call Etna ‘A Muntagna’ (‘The Mountain’). Its
fertile soil and microclimates make the olives
sweet and wines delicious and many Sicilians
depend on that very soil for their livelihoods.
But alongside that, of course, is the constant
threat of a new outburst, the next calamitous
puke. It feels like a living thing, a moody giant
bossing the island, both creator and destroyer.
And it’s steeped in legend, too. The
volcano was the supposed haunt of the one-
eyed monster Cyclops, and the Greek god of
ire Hephaestus is said to have kept his forge
beneath the mountain. Even now, 1,640tWant to get up close to a smouldering, sulphurous peak? Sicily’s explosive
icon is a good place to start — just remember to wrap up warmabove us, the peak is puing. Thankfully,
Etna doesn’t erupt during our visit.
Driving back down the mountain, swapping
rocky slopes for green and forested lanks,
we stop at Murgo, a small winery on the
southeastern side. The ‘minerality’ of the
volcanic soil here produces ‘supple, earthy
and electric’ grapes, according to the guide.
The kids are at irst intrigued to learn how
wine is made. Then the novelty wears of.
We sit down for lunch. I’ve read that the
Sicilian dish, pasta alla Norma, relects the
volcanic landscape — sweet tomato sauce
is the lava, aubergine the black rock, basil
the greenery around the mountain and a
sprinkling of ricotta salata the snow on its
peak. It’s time to tuck in. PÓL Ó CONGHAILEA cable-car ride, 4WD bus tour and guided walk on
Mount Etna cost from £35 per person from Rifugio
Sapienza. Bring layers for the cold, be sure to wear
closed shoes — no sandals or lip-lops — and plenty
of sunscreen. funiviaetna.com/en
IMAGE: GETTY Best for: Five-plus
TRAVELLER 10October 2019 17509