Two black cones sitting on the lower southeastern slope of the Montagnola: the Monti Calcarazzi, produced during a large flank eruption in 1766. This photograph, taken on 18 February 1998 and looking SE, shows patches of snow lying in the craters and at the base of the cones. The peculiarly shaped cone in the background is Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina, and two other flank cones (Monte Arso and Mompilieri) can be faintly seen in right distance. Interestingly, this photograph was taken exactly from the spot where on 18 July 2001 an eruptive fissure would open and emit a lava flow that would advance menacingly in the direction of the town of Nicolosi. However, the lava flow emitted during the 1766 eruption at the Monti Calcarazzi was much more voluminous and came much closer to Nicolosi

Mamma Etna's countless children
Monti Calcarazzi (1766 eruption)
S flank, 15.00833° E, 37.70532° N
Summit elevation: 2064 m

Formed during a large flank eruption that lasted from 17 April until 6 November 1766, the Monti Calcarazzi are much less conspicuous and less known than the nearby Monti Silvestri, formed in 1892. They lie a little bit upslope from the latter, with the highest point at 2064 m elevation, and form two coalescing cones with as many craters aligned north-south. The southern base of the cones lies at about 1990 m elevation, while on its northern side it is at 2055 m, only about 10 m below the summit.
The Monti Calcarazzi came into marginal limelight in the summer of 2001 when less than 500 m away a new fissure opened, which attracted worldwide media interest and was seen in television nearly round the hour over a period of about three weeks. To the more adventurous (or rather say reckless?) of the spectators of that event, the Monti Calcarazzi provided a most spectacular view of the erupting new vents, where a new cone was built. This new cone, however, reached only very minor dimensions compared to the nearby, silent Monti Calcarazzi and still much larger Monti Silvestri further downslope.
In spite of many visits to the area of the Monti Calcarazzi (and many times that I passed less than 100 m away), I have not climbed them so far (as of December 2003).

Left: a view of Monte Arso from the summit of Mompeloso, 1.3 km to the SSW, with Etna's main edifice in the background, and the eastern slope of Monte Gervasi at the extreme left. Monte Gervasi was the site of the second most recent eruption in the Nicolosi area, sometime between A.D. 252 (or 253) and 1669 Center: Southern face of Monte Arso, seen from about 0.9 km distance from its summit Right: vineyards cover much of the southern flank of Monte Arso, and intense agricultural activity since many centuries masks the rim of a small half-cone (in right foreground) leaning on the lower southern flank of the main cone. A larger crater occupies the area between the viewing point and the tree-dotted crest in the background

Continue to the lowermost fissure of 2001

Return to the Etna flank cone index

Copyright © Boris Behncke, "Italy's Volcanoes: The Cradle of Volcanology"