This year, I am living next to Europe’s most active volcano, Mount Etna!
I am currently living less than a mile from the sea, so I am essentially at sea level. Walking out from my home, I see Mount Etna rising up in the distance, just about 18 miles (29 kilometers) away as the crow files. At just over 11,000 feet (3357 meters), the volcano defines the landscape and views from the city of Catania, and in fact, is so big that it can be seen from many parts of the island of Sicily.
Despite some of the challenges discussed below, the volcano also brings many gifts.
For one, communities often construct and shape their environments with whatever is locally available, and as such, much of Catania is built using jagged, black lava rocks. This gives the whole city a different feel. By contrast, in Lecce, another south Italian city (in the heel of the boot) which I visited a few weeks back, many buildings are constructed of pietra leccese, (meaning “stone from Lecce,” a light yellow colored and distinctive kind of limestone).
In addition to the practical matter of providing free building materials, Etna is a big draw for tourism in the city, and as such, creates revenue for Catania and the surrounding area.
