Italy's Volcanoes: The Cradle of Volcanology

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Monte Ilice
The irregular topography upon which the large cone of Monte Ilice was built is evident in this view from south, taken in early March 1997. On its southeast side (right), the cone rises more than 200 m above its base, while on the opposite side its relative height is only about 50 m. The youthful shape and relatively sparse vegetation of Monte Ilice indicate that it is one of the most recent of the many cones on Etna's southeast flank - it seems indeed that it was formed during a large eruption in about A.D. 1050

Mamma Etna's countless children
Monte Ilice
SE flank, 15.081871° E, 37.664573° N
summit elevation: 907 m

 

Monte Ilice, the mountain of the holm oak (Quercus ilex), is a huge pyroclastic cone sitting on a steep slope next to the village of Fleri, about 3.5 km southwest of the town of Zafferana. This is probably the second most recent of the cones on the lower southeast flank of Mount Etna, formed by large eruption around A.D. 1050 - that is, in the "times of darkness", the Middle Ages. A large lava flow that was emitted from vents at the base of Monte Ilice and reached the Ionian Sea near Stazzo, about 5 km north of Acireale, has previously been believed to be the product of an eruption in 1329. However, reviews of historical documents and palaeomagnetic studies undertaken by Tanguy et al. (1999, 2003) show that the 1329 eruption occurred at Monterosso, about 2 km southeast of Monte Ilice, while the Monte Ilice eruption occurred around 300 years earlier. The Monte Ilice eruption must have resembled in many details that of the Monti Rossi near Nicolosi (south flank) in 1669, although the latter was more voluminous and did far more damage. Intense explosive activity built up the huge cone of Monte Ilice, which rises 200 m above its southeast base, probably causing heavy ash falls in a wide area around Etna, and a large lava flow extended down to the coastline, 10 km to the east. This was one of only three eruptions at Etna during the past 1000 years whose lava flows entered the Ionian Sea. An enormous lava delta, 1.5 wide, was built out into the sea between the present-day villages of Pozzillo and Santa Tecla; much of this delta is now occupied by the village of Stazzo.
Monte Ilice is quite symmetrical in shape but the terrain upon which it was built is irregular. It sits perched on a steep slope and thus its relative height varies strongly, from more than 200 m above the southeast base to only 50 m above the northwest base. It is truncated by a circular crater about 280 m wide and up to 80 m deep. A short row of smaller craters, largely hidden by dense vegetation, lies at the northwest base of Monte Ilice and probably marks the upslope portion of an eruptive fissure active during the Monte Ilice eruption. Earlier studies suggested that these smaller vents were younger than Monte Ilice itself (actually, these were believed to be the 1329 vents), but it seems now that both are of the same Medieval age. A visit to Monte Ilice is worth the effort (access is possible only via a small road that takes a long detour across dense forest and whose entrance is very, very difficult to find) for the breathtaking panoramic views that can be enjoyed from there.
I visited and climbed Monte Ilice for the first time in early March 1997 and visited it again in May and November of that year. Then, six years passed until I returned with a group of German students in June 2003. The photographs on this page were taken during these visits.

Monte Ilice Monte Ilice Monte Ilice
Left: group photograph of some of the pyroclastic cones surrounding the village of Monterosso, early March 1997. Monte Ilice is the large regular cone at left, in the center lies the small and very old Monte Caterratte, followed further to the right by Monterosso, the youngest cone on Etna's lower southeast flank. This photo was taken from the summit of Monte S. Nicolò, 2.7 km south of Monte Ilice
Center: Monte Ilice seen from south in early May 1997, showing vineyards that cover this side of the cone
Right: a quite different perspective of Monte Ilice is seen from about 1 km west, a terrain that lies at about the same altitude (~900 m) as the summit of the cone. Photo taken in early May 1997
Monte Ilice Monte Ilice Monte Ilice
Left: another view from west, but from a location closer to Monte Ilice (about 0.7 km distant), shows a lower cone at its left base that surrounds a smaller crater; further and still smaller craters lie out of the photograph to the left, marking a short eruptive fissure of which Monte Ilice is the main vent. Photograph taken in early May 1997
Center: view from the northwest crater rim of Monte Ilice onto the smaller vents and cones on the eruptive fissure that extends from the main crater to the northwest, early March 1997
Right: panoramic view of the large (~280 m) crater of Monte Ilice from its north rim in early March 1997. The depth of the crater below the viewing point in this image is about 80 m
Monte Ilice Monte Ilice Monte Ilice
Left: a look into the largest of the smaller craters that lie along an eruptive fissure immediately northwest of Monte Ilice (of which part is visible in the background), mid-June 2003. Dense vegetation covers this crater and renders its identification in this image difficult
Center: unusually smooth surface of strongly altered and cemented pyroclastic rocks that make up the upper south flank of Monte Ilice, photographed in mid-June 2003
Right: view from the south rim of the crater of Monte Ilice toward south, with the cones of Monte Gorna (right),Monte S. Nicolò (center) and Monte Serra (left distance) in the background, mid-June 2003

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