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A river of fire from the depths of the Earth carves its way through the black rocks of a mountain blanketed white with snow. Above, the setting sun tints the clouds red. Fountains of lava that explode from a crater soar hundreds of metres into the air and Etna’s roar echoes across the Sicilian sky.
Its recent eruptions were a breathtaking spectacle, drawing thousands of tourists and unwary daytrippers – many there for a selfie. For some, the outcome was catastrophic.
Dozens of people, lacking appropriate mountain gear, went missing last week and were recovered late at night suffering from hypothermia. Many sustained various injuries as hundreds of cars, haphazardly parked along the road leading to the lava flows, blocked the streets and prevented rescue services from reaching those in need of assistance. Authorities threatened to report imprudent visitors to the police and introduced restrictions to stay away from the magma.
“They have turned a volcano into a playground,” said Luca Ferlito, commander of the operational unit of Sicily’s Guardia Forestale. “After images of the eruption started circulating on social media, showing people skiing just a few metres from the lava flow moving over the snow, thousands of visitors stormed the mountain. Many of them were completely unequipped.”
Ferlito added: “We saw all sorts of scenes. People approaching the lava flow in high heels and miniskirts, people in shorts, someone started roasting sausages, others were taking shirtless photos near the lava. A couple brought a six-month-old baby; an American man showed up in jeans, a T-shirt, and crutches. We stopped a 70-year-old tourist who was wearing cotton trousers and summer rubber shoes.”
The Guardian joined rescue services on Mount Etna who had been brought in to assist residents and curb the flow of tourists and daytrippers from Sicily and beyond, even after mayors of the towns on the volcano’s slopes ordered visitors to stay at least 500 metres from the lava.
“The presence of so many people forced us to work non-stop, day and night without rest,” says Paolo Bernardini, commander of the Alpine Rescue Unit of the Guardia di Finanza. “Since the lava flows started descending to lower altitudes, the number of rescue operations has increased exponentially.”
Italy, home to the most Unesco heritage sites in the world, is becoming wearily accustomed to episodes of overtourism. Last month, the mayor of Roccaraso, a popular Italian ski resort, clamped down on daytrippers after the town was overwhelmed by 260 buses carrying more than 10,000 visitors from Naples and the surrounding Campania region, lured by a TikTok star.
But Etna, 3,300 metres (10,800ft) above sea level, is not just a ski resort. It is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and has been in explosive form in recent weeks, spewing incandescent magma and a copious shower of ash that has reached as far as the port city of Catania on the island’s east coast.
And though visually striking, the interaction of lava and snow exposes visitors to serious risks. A BBC team and a number of tourists suffered minor injuries in 2017 when a lava flow ran into snow and produced superheated steam that pelted the group with boiling rocks.
The landscapes of its peaks are wild and nearly devoid of life, the temperatures plunge to freezing even in the height of summer and the weather is inconsistent. Bernardini and his unit rescued four young men in the middle of the night on Sunday after they had lost their way.
“We found them after hours of searching in the dark, with fog rolling in,” he says. “They were wearing sneakers and jeans and were already showing early signs of hypothermia. One of them wasn’t even wearing socks.”
In just six days since early February, 1m cubic metres of lava have erupted from Mount Etna. The lava flow – which began on 8 February from an eruptive fissure at the southern base of the Bocca Nuova crater – slowly descended to an altitude of 1,900 metres, making it more accessible to visitors. While the magma from this fissure gradually cooled, another fissure at 3,000 metres near the mountain’s south-east crater produced fresh lava flows last Monday.
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Authorities fear that people may be tempted to take treacherous routes high up the volcano to experience the new flows.
Accompanied by rescuers, the Guardian trekked to the lava, across fragile ash terrain blanketed in ice where rocks from an eruption more than a year ago still smoulder and temperatures hover near -5C.
Not everyone has welcomed the restrictions. Guides and nearby residents complain that it is unfair that people are not allowed to enjoy the beauty of their own territory, due to the restrictions introduced by the mayors.
“We are used to mountain excursions,” said Danilo Spongano, 45, from Lecce, who was visiting Etna with his family. “Depriving people like us to enjoy a natural spectacle like this, I really find it a shame.”
Gabriella Cannata, a teacher who lives in Catania, has been exploring Etna for years. “There are reckless individuals who come without proper preparation,” she said, “but that shouldn’t mean penalising those who act responsibly.”
Two weeks ago she was able to visit the lava flow, wearing a helmet, headlamps with spare batteries, and hand and foot warmers.
“I witnessed the latest eruption, and before leaving – by then in darkness – I turned for one last look at the lava,” Cannata said. “The scene before me was magical: the crowd of visitors had grown, each person moving around the flow with a small light on their head. It felt as if we were all part of a pilgrimage to Mother Nature.”
“In that moment,” she said, “I realised how important it is to continue being moved by the beauty of nature. Etna is a symbol of that beauty, and it deserves to be respected but also experienced.”
