Strongly irregular in shape, and with a remarkably flat crater bottom (possibly occupied by a small temporary lake in the past), Monte Vetore lies on the southern margin of a flat area, known as Piano Vetore. The area attracts many people from nearby towns on fine weekend days, who picnick in this scenic place. The dense forest on the cone is the result of reforestation during the 1950s-1960s; probably a previous forest had fallen victim to extensive deforestation at Etna until the early 20th century. This view of Monte Vetore was taken on 24 May 1998, looking SSW from a pile of fairly young pahoehoe lavas (though their age is not known) that overlooks the Piano Vetore and offers spectacular panoramic views over the south flank of the volcano

Mamma Etna's countless children
Monte Vetore
S flank, 14.98520° E, 37.65457° N
Summit elevation: 1823 m

Monte Vetore forms a conspicuous landmark in the relatively flat area area known as Piano Vetore, located roughly between the Rifugio Sapienza tourist facilities and the Astrophysical Observatory and the Botanical Garden, at 1700-1900 m elevation on the south flank of Mount Etna. To persons driving up to the Rifugio Sapienza area it signals the near end of the long way up. It is covered by dense forest, which has grown since the early reforestation efforts of the 1950s to 1960s; before that it seems to have been one of those areas which were seriously deforested as a consequence of human wood demand.
Lying perched on the upper part of a steep slope (which borders the Piano Vetore plain to the south), the cone of Monte Vetore is highly irregular, and its southern base lies at about 1660 m elevation, while its northern base lies about 110 m higher. From there to the NW rim of the summit crater it is an easy climb because on this side the rim lies only 30 m above the surrounding plain. As at its base, Monte Vetore is also highly irregularly shaped at its summit. Strong wind must have blown to the SE at the time of its formation, leading to accumulation of ejected pyroclastics mainly on that side, which culminates at 1823 m elevation. The crater has a flat bottom, where possibly there has been a temporary lake after heavy rainfalls in the past. A nice wooden building stands at the summit, which (as far as I know) hosts a meteorological station, and a seismic station of the INGV-Catania has been installed nearby. On fine weekend days, many residents of nearby towns flock at Monte Vetore for picnicking ("'a scampagnata"); yet the Forest Service here does a good job in keeping the place tidy (elsewhere on the lower slopes of Etna, unfortunately, this is not the case).
I visited and climbed Monte Vetore for the first time on 24 May 1998 and came back on several occasions during the following years. The photographs on this page were mainly taken on 24 May 1998 and on 22 April 2000.

Left: a view of Monte Arso from the summit of Mompeloso, 1.3 km to the SSW, with Etna's main edifice in the background, and the eastern slope of Monte Gervasi at the extreme left. Monte Gervasi was the site of the second most recent eruption in the Nicolosi area, sometime between A.D. 252 (or 253) and 1669 Center: Southern face of Monte Arso, seen from about 0.9 km distance from its summit Right: vineyards cover much of the southern flank of Monte Arso, and intense agricultural activity since many centuries masks the rim of a small half-cone (in right foreground) leaning on the lower southern flank of the main cone. A larger crater occupies the area between the viewing point and the tree-dotted crest in the background

Continue to the Monti Silvestri

Return to the Etna flank cone index

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