Fact - File about Mount Etna
- It is almost 11,000 feet high
- It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
- The volcano covers a huge area, of over 460 square miles.
- Vulcan was the Roman God of metalworking and fire and the Romans believed his workshop
was the base of the Mountain.
- More than 70 people have died as a result of Mount Etna’s eruptions.
- Local people often call Etna ‘Mongibello’ meaning ‘beautiful mountain’ in Italian.
- About one quarter of the population of the island of Sicily lives on its slopes.
- The most violent eruption was in March, 1669.
- Mount Etna is popular with tourists, who climb or ski on the mountain.
By Shahzad Sarafnas