During the year 1763 Etna produced two flank eruptions, and both were quite explosive. The earlier of these, in February-March of that year, occurred on the west flank and gave birth to a cone named Monte Nuovo. This cone is peculiar for its reddish color and symmetrical shape, although this view (from the western base of the cone) shows that the symmetry is somewhat disturbed by the low western rim of its crater. A few isolated pine trees have already colonized the cone. As in many other flank eruptions of Etna, lava did not spill out of the crater itself, but from a vent at the base of the cone to form the chaotic flow in the foreground. Nearly 250 years after its emplacement, the flow carries only lichens and a few isolated bushes. Photo taken in mid-October 2002

Mamma Etna's countless children
Monte Nuovo (1763 eruption)
W flank, 14.89977° E, 37.73787° N
Summit elevation: 1674 m

To the inhabitants of the western flank of Etna, during the 18th century, the growth of a new pyroclastic cone was certainly an impressive experience. In February-March 1763, the first historically documented birth of a new cone on that side of the volcano occurred in an area between Monte Lepre and Monte Rosso, and the newly formed cone was named "the new mountain" - Monte Nuovo. Only four months later, yet another new mountain formed during a second flank eruption, this time on the south flank of Etna. The cone formed during that event became known as Montagnola.
Monte Nuovo is a beautifully shaped, essentially unvegetated cone whose conspicuous reddish color makes it appear in marked contrast with the surrounding older, and more or less densely vegetated cones, and the much more recent black cones of the Monti De Fiore, formed in early 1974. Rising about 80 m above its SW base, Monte Nuovo bears a few pioneer pine trees, one of which has grown in the relatively protected (from wind), small summit crater that is only about 90 m wide. A notch opens the crater rim on its western (downslope) side, where smaller vents were probably active along a short fissure, which in its lower portion contains the main effusive vent from which a 3.7 km long lava flow issued. This flow flowed around the southern side of Monte Ruvolo and still bears very little vegetation (mainly lichens with a few scattered bushes).
In mid-October 2002 I had the doubtful privilege to walk about 1 km across this lava field, which was about as bad as walking across very recent lavas. On that occasion I passed at the western base of the cone but time limits prevented me from climbing it. The photos shown on this page were taken mostly during a 1997 visit to the nearby Monti De Fiore and during the close passage of October 2002.

Left: in this panoramic view from the summit of Monte Mezzaluna, Monte Nuovo is seen as a symmetrical cone in the right center, at a distance of about 1 km. Further to the left lie the two cones of the Monti Di Fiore, formed in January-March 1974, and the enormous cone of Monte Minardo is seen in the distance. Photo taken in April 1997 Center: the symmetrical shape of Monte Nuovo is evident in this photograph taken from the east in April 1997 Right: Monte Nuovo seen from the summit of Monte Di Fiore I in April 1997. Lavas seen in the foreground were produced during the first phase of the 1974 Monti Di Fiore eruption. In the background lies Monte Lepre, which probably erupted in Medieval time

Continue to the Monti De Fiore (of the 1974 eruption)

Return to the Etna flank cone index

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