Seen from Monte Arso, a pyroclastic cone about 1.3 km to the NNE, the cone of Mompeloso appears fairly regular, but seen from other sides it is seen to be elongated to the south, where there are several minor vents that were produced by the same eruption which built up the Mompeloso cone. That eruption occurred after the massive explosive summit eruption in 122 B.C. (the Mompeloso products overlie the related pyroclastic deposit), probably sometime around A.D. 252-253. Photograph taken on 15 April 2000

Mamma Etna's countless children
Mompeloso (or Monpeloso)
S flank, 15.03370° E, 37.63238° N
summit elevation: 943 m

Rising more than 100 m above the surrounding terrain, Mompeloso (sometimes also named Monpeloso) is one of the most conspicuous flank cones that mark the landscape around the town of Nicolosi, on the southern flank of Mount Etna. At the same time, it is also one the most youthful, possibly the third most recent in the area (after the Monti Rossi, formed in 1669, and the unconspicuous Monte Gervasi that erupted many centuries earlier). Stratigraphic studies carried out by Del Carlo and Branca (1998) revealed that the products of the Mompeloso eruption overlie the tephra deposit of the strongly explosive 122 B.C. summit eruption (Coltelli et al. 1998) and are thus younger than that date. The most probable candidate among the historically documented eruptions of Etna is that reported to have taken place either in A.D. 252 or the year after, very shortly after in Catania (at that time under the central Roman government) a young girl named Agata was martyred to death for her refusal of the romantic advances of the Questor of the town. The local folklore has it that when the lava flow presumably emitted from the Mompeloso eruptive fissure came alarmingly close to Catania, the veil of Agata was carried in a procession to the lava front, which thereupon stopped miraculously - one of several reasons why Agata became the patron saint of Catania.
Mompeloso is the largest cone produced along a N-S eruptive fissure about 0.8 km long, with several smaller edifices lying at its southern base. These constitute a row of coalesced cones no more than 20 m above the surrounding surface, which since long time have been extensively used for agricultural purposes, with fruit gardens and vineyards lying on them, some of which have been abandoned. Unfortunately the one lying closest to the base of the main Mompeloso cone has been largely destroyed in the spring of 2003, when the owner of the terrain had its top bulldozed flat, probably with the intention of constructing a building in the place. A further minor vent lies about half way up the south slope of the Mompeloso cone, which is now a vineyard. The southern rim of the summit crater shows a conspicuous notch, a result of the presence of smaller vents along the eruptive fissure extending from the summit to the south.
I visited and climbed Mompeloso on 15 April 2000, when these photographs were taken. The next time I returned to the place was in July 2003, to see how the small crater on its south base was transformed into a flat terrain.

Left: Mompeloso seen from the northern outskirts of Nicolosi, about 1 km to the W. Several smaller cones produced by the same eruption lie to the south of the cone and form the low ridge at its right base. In the foreground, barely recognizable, lies the much older crater of Monte S. Nicolò (not to be confused with the cone of the same name near Monterosso) Center: view of Mompeloso from one of the minor vents at its southern base, whose crater forms a shallow depression seen in the foreground Right: southern face of the Mompeloso cone, with one of the smaller vents at its southern base in the foreground. Note the notch in the southern rim of the summit crater of the main cone

A cluster of smaller vents, aligned along a N-S fissure, lies to the south of the main Mompeloso cone. These vents have built low cones around them, which are intensely used for agriculture (mainly vineyards and fruit gardens) and much of their features is no longer recognizable. The one closest to the main cone has been partially destroyed by caterpillars in the spring of 2003, possibly in order to construct a building in the place which admittedly is extremely scenic. The photos above show a general view of these small cones seen from the south slope of Mompeloso (left, with the densely populated area between Catania and Nicolosi in the background), the largest of these cones (center), and another small crater largely obscured by vineyards on the lower south flank of the Mompeloso cone (right). The cone seen in the distance in the center and right photographs is Mompilieri, lying south of the Monti Rossi

Left: view across the summit crater of Mompeloso toward N, with the bulk of Mount Etna in the background. The Mompeloso crater is a simple, saucer-shaped depression periodically used for pasture Center: view from the W side of the summit crater of Mompeloso to its E rim, lying about 80 m away. In the background several conspicuous pyroclastic cones are seen; these are (from left to right) Monte Ilice, Monte Gorna, and Monte S. Nicolò, occupying the area next to the village of Monterosso, and in front of the latter, the Tre Monti near the town of Trecastagni Right: Mompeloso is seen here from the summit of nearby Monte Arso, about 1.3 km to the NNE, with the Monti Rossi and Mompilieri lying in the distance. View is to the SW

This was once one of the smaller craters constituting the lower portion of the Mompeloso eruptive fissure. In mid-July 2003, when this photograph was taken, the crater was bulldozed into a flat area, presumably in order to establish a building and/or garden on it

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