Etna's Fountains of Fire

The Italian government declared a state of emergency in the Sicilian province of Catania - home to Mount Etna, Europe's highest and most active volcano, in July 2001.

For a week the volcano spewed lava and ash hundreds of meters into the air. This forced local authorities to close the international airport at Catania. Residents at the base of the mountain were given evacuation notices as the lava flow edged closer.

The rivers of magma from the rumbling volcano threatened the 5,000 residents of the village of Nicolosi, perched halfway up the southern slopes of the 3,350-meter mountain. At the time of writing this article, the lava flow was within four kilometers of the first houses of the village.

A second lava flow is continued down the southern face of the mountain, west of Nicolosi. It damaged several skilifts dotted over the volcano, which is also a popular winter resort. But tourism officials say snow may not end up settling this winter because of the extreme heat of the lava. Smoke and ash billowed 500 metres above the mountain top.

The last time Etna posed a threat was in 1992, when lava streams headed towards Zafferana, a town of 7,000 people on Etna's lower slopes. The Italian military had to use controlled explosions to divert the flow.