Heavily terraced Monte Trigona seen from southeast on 26 February 2004, a small cone probably of prehistoric age south of the town of Trecastagni that is nearly entirely occupied by vineyards and fruit gardens. Monte Trigona is so unconspicuous that it is visible only from few locations nearby, and it is dwarfed by numerous much larger cones in the area. Main edifice of Etna, partly hidden by haze, lies in right background

Mamma Etna's countless children
Monte Trigona
SE flank, 15.073824° E, 37.597510° N (crater floor)
Summit elevation: ca 500 m

Monte Trigona is a small pyroclastic cone surrounded by residential areas and fruit gardens, about 2 km south of the center of Trecastagni. This cone is by some sources reported to have erupted in 122 B.C., although it is now known that the 122 B.C. eruption was a Plinian summit eruption, and Monte Trigona is clearly older than the pyroclastic deposit of that eruption. The height of this cone above its base is a few tens of meters, and it is virtually impossible to visit it because it mostly lies within privately owned terrain; an area apparently of public domain on the north side of the cone is closed to public access anyway. Its slopes and summit are strongly modified by agricultural activity, mostly in the form of terraces.
I passed close to Monte Trigona for the first time on 26 February 2004, when the photographs on this page were taken.

Left: seen from the summit of Monte Troina, about 2 km to the northwest, Monte Trigona is seen looming above an area densely covered by homes, gardens and vineyards. Photo taken on 5 March 2004 Center: looking across an abandoned terrain toward Monte Trigona from west, 26 February 2004 Right: northern side of Monte Trigona on 26 February 2004. In the foreground, a sign near a locked gate announces "enclosure and reorganization work in progress", although no progress seems to have taken place since years, and the area is virtually inaccessible

Left: northeastern face of Monte Trigona with vineyards in foreground, 26 February 2004 Center: summit of Monte Trigona seen from about 1 km to the north, 26 February 2004 Right: a typical example of pollution of the environment, unfortunately seen frequently and in many different ways on the lower slopes of Mount Etna, here at the south base of Monte Trigona. It seems as though the sign prohibiting waste discharge is taken by people as an invitation to do the contrary

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