The characteristic irregular outline of Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina is seen in this mid-January 2004 photograph as it appears from the Provincial Road 92, leading from Zafferana to the Rifugio Sapienza area. This large prehistoric cone shows the effect of a strong wind blowing east during its eruption, resulting in the high crater rim on the eastern (left) side. To the south (far side) the crater is open, as lava was delivered directly from the main eruptive vent. The lower northern (near) flank of the cone has been buried when lava flows surrounded the cone during the eruptions of 1766 and 1892

Mamma Etna's countless children
Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina
SSE flank, 15.025312° E, 37.690958° N
Summit elevation: 1702 m (E crater rim)

Among the numerous flank cones of Mount Etna, this is certainly the one with the name most difficult to remember. Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina means "mountain of the sharp-peaked ridge of Calvarina", with Calvarina being the name of the area in general. This is not to be confused with another cone somewhat further down on the south flank, Monte Serra Pizzuta, which also has a sharp peak forming its summit. Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina is a broad, prehistoric cone of highly irregular shape with a maximum base diameter of nearly 600 m (NW-SE) and a horseshoe-shaped crater open to the south. The sharp peak that inspired the name of the cone is the high east rim of the crater, evidently a result of a strong wind blowing toward east during the growth of the cone. As can be seen from the photographs on this page, the shape of the cone varies strongly when viewed from different directions. The high east rim of the crater stands up to 120 m above the southeast base of the cone, but on the other sides the cone is only a few tens of meters high. In contrast with some other of Etna's larger flank cones it is thus not very difficult to climb Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina, and the climb is rewarded by a 360-degree panoramic view. Access to the cone is easy, it is possible to arrive near the northwestern base by car, and from there the climb to the summit takes only a few minutes.
The age of Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina is not known, and the lavas emitted through the open south side of the cone have been buried under more recent lavas, most recently by those of the 1892 Monti Silvestri eruption.
Although I had previously passed dozens of times near Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina, I first climbed it only in January 2004, and many of the photographs on this page have been taken on that occasion.

Left: in this image, taken at sunrise on 24 May 1998, Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina lies in center right (note the brownish high eastern crater rim), against the backdrop of numerous other flank cones on Etna's south flank. Monte Solfizio is seen in left foreground, behind it is the low Monte Salto del Cane, and in the background lie Monte Arso, Mompeloso, Monte Serra Pizzuta and the Monti Rossi Center: seen from south, the steep-sided eastern crater rim of Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina (the forested irregular cone in the center of the image) is most evident. The prominent peak in the background is the Montagnola, a flank cone formed in 1763, which from this perspective completely hides the summit area further to the north. Note dark lava flow (of 1892) encroaching from left on Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina. Photo taken on 14 June 1997 Right: view from northwest toward Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina (at extreme left) in late October 2003. Dark hue of the area in the foregound is due to thick tephra deposit of the 2002-2003 eruption

Photographs taken in mid-January 2004, showing Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina from southwest (left), and northeast (center), and view from the summit of the cone at the high eastern crater rim toward southeast, with lava lobes of 1766 and 1892 in the foreground; Monte Salto del Cane is the low, rounded cone lying in upper central portion of the image

Photomosaic taken from high eastern rim of the crater of Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina in late January 2004, looking northwest. The irregular crater rim is seen in the foreground; in the background lie the Monti Silvestri (center right) and the Montagnola (extreme right)

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