The volcanism of Italy is due chiefly to the presence, a short distance to the south, of the boundary between the
Eurasian Plate and the
African Plate
The African Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes much of the continent of Africa (except for its easternmost part) and the adjacent oceanic crust to the west and south. It is bounded by the North American Plate and South American Plat ...
.
Italy is a
volcanically active country, containing the only active volcanoes in
mainland Europe (while volcanic islands are also present in
Greece, in the
volcanic arc of the southern Aegean). The
lava erupted by Italy's volcanoes is thought to result from the
subduction
Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, ...
and melting of one plate below another.
Three main clusters of volcanism exist: a line of volcanic centres running northwest along the central part of the Italian mainland (see:
Campanian volcanic arc
The Campanian volcanic arc is a volcanic arc that consists of a number of active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes in the Campania region of Italy. The Campanian volcanic arc centers on the bay of Naples and includes:
* Mount Vesuvius: an active ...
); a cluster northeast of
Sicily in the
Aeolian Islands
The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named afte ...
; and a cluster southwest of Sicily around the island of
Pantelleria, in the
Mediterranean's Strait of Sicily.
Sardinia has had a totally separate
geological history from that of the rest of Italy, where several cycles of volcanic activity occurred, the last of which ended at the beginning of the
Pleistocene, but currently hosts only permanently extinct volcanoes.
Due to their position within densely populated areas,
Etna and
Vesuvius have been included in the list of "Volcanoes of the Decade", a global list of volcanoes to be kept under closer surveillance.
In particular, the "Volcanoes of the Decade" is a list drawn up by
International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, as part of a
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
project, which includes, overall, 16 volcanoes distributed all over the world.
Italy was the
first country to exploit geothermal energy to produce electricity.
The high geothermal gradient that forms part of the peninsula makes it potentially exploitable also in other regions; research carried out in the 1960s and 1970s identified potential geothermal fields in
Lazio and
Tuscany, as well as in most volcanic islands.
Volcanoes
Active volcanoes
Four of Italy's volcanoes have erupted in the last one hundred years:
*
Mount Etna, on
Sicily (continuous activity). It is the highest volcano in Europe west of the
Caucasus.
*
Stromboli, one of the
Aeolian Islands
The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named afte ...
(continuous activity).
*
Mount Vesuvius, near
Naples (last erupted in 1944); the only volcano to have recently erupted in
Continental Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, b ...
.
*
Vulcano, another of the Aeolian Islands, last erupted in 1888–1890.
Dormant volcanoes
At least 10 other volcanic centres have seen eruptions in historic times. In order of the most recent eruptions, they are:
*
Pantelleria, off the coast of
Tunisia, probably last erupted around 1,000 BC. There was a submarine eruption a few kilometres north-east of the island in 1891, which was probably related to the main volcano.
*
Vulcanello
Vulcano ( scn, Vurcanu) or Vulcan is a small volcanic island belonging to Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about north of Sicily and located at the southernmost end of the seven Aeolian Islands. The island is known for its volcanic activity and c ...
, a small volcano connected by an isthmus to the island of Vulcano, which erupted out of the sea in 183 BC and showed occasional activity thereafter until the 16th century.
*
Phlegraean Fields, a huge caldera containing the western area of Naples, erupted in 1538, generating the small
tuff cone
Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...
named
Monte Nuovo
Monte Nuovo ("New Mountain") is a cinder cone volcano within the Campi Flegrei caldera, near Naples, southern Italy. A series of damaging earthquakes and changes in land elevation preceded its only eruption, during the most recent part of the ...
("new mountain").
*
Ischia
Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to ...
, an island 20 kilometres west of
Naples, last erupted in 1302.
*
Lipari, an island a couple of kilometres from Vulcano, has a volcano which last erupted in 1230.
*
Vulsini
Vulsini, also known as Volsini volcano, Vulsini Volcanic District, Vulsini Volcanic Complex and the Vulsinian District, is a circular region of intrusive igneous rock in Lazio, Italy, about to the north northwest of Rome, containing a cluster ...
(Bolsena volcano, Latera volcano, Montefiascone volcano), a caldera complex at the northern end of the
Roman magmatic province (at the north of
Cimini volcanic complex), last erupted in 104 BC.
*
Monte Albano, a quiescent volcanic complex near
Rome (south). The most recent eruptions produced
Lake Nemi and
Lake Albano
Lake Albano (Italian: ''Lago Albano'' or ''Lago di Castel Gandolfo'') is a small volcanic crater lake in the Alban Hills of Lazio, at the foot of Monte Cavo, southeast of Rome. Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the lake, is the site of the Papal Pala ...
. It may have last erupted in 5,000 BC, the idea of eruptions during the
Holocene have since been questioned, and the last ascertained eruption occurred in 34,000 BC. Since this time interval is comparable to the average dormancy time of the volcano, it cannot yet be considered extinct.
*
Sabatini, (
Bracciano
Bracciano is a small town in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. The town is famous for its volcanic lake ( Lago di Bracciano or "Sabatino", the eighth largest lake in Italy) and for a particularly well-preserved medieval castle Cast ...
volcano and
Sacrofano
Sacrofano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about north of Rome. Located near the Monti Sabatini, at the feet of an extinct volcano, it is included in the Regional Park of Veii.
...
volcano) is a volcanic complex and caldera near
Rome (north). It last erupted in 70,000 BC, but, as for the Monte Albano, it cannot yet be considered extinct.
*
Cimini (
Cimino volcano and
Vico volcano), a volcanic complex and caldera at the north of the
Sabatini volcanic complex. It last erupted in 90,000 BC.
*
Panarea
Panarea (; scn, Panarìa) is the smallest of the seven inhabited Aeolian Islands, a volcanic island chain in north of Sicily, southern Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Lipari. There are currently about 280 residents living on ...
, part of the
Aeolian Islands
The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named afte ...
, last erupted in the
Pleistocene, but a high seismic and gaseous activity suggests that it can be considered quiescent.
Underwater volcanoes
In addition to the volcanoes on land, there are three
submarine volcanoes in the seas surrounding Italy, in particular in the south-eastern Tyrrhenian and in the Strait of Sicily:
*
Marsili, a submarine volcano in the
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian p ...
. Marsili rises 3,000 metres from the seabed in the Tyrrhenian sea 180 km south of Naples. Its summit is only 500 metres below the surface of the water. The volcano last erupted between 2,100 and 5,000 BC, and is considered active, and potentially dangerous, as a possible collapse of the volcanic building could trigger a
tsunami. However, it is not yet clear how much this eventuality is actually possible, as there is no evidence of similar collapses (and consequent tsunamis) in the last 700,000 years.
*
Isola Ferdinandea, emerged following a
surtseyan eruption
A Surtseyan eruption is an explosive style of volcanic eruption that takes place in shallow seas or lakes when rapidly rising and fragmenting hot magma interacts explosively with water and with water-steam-tephra slurries. The eruption style is n ...
, a few kilometers north-west of Pantelleria in 1831, reaching a maximum height of 63 meters, but was eroded again at sea level after a few months. The summit is now a few meters below the surface of the sea. A later eruption may have occurred in 1863, but this is not proven. A swarm of small earthquakes in 2002 led to think that magma was moving under the volcano, but no eruption occurred. It is located in the so-called Graham volcanic field, which is believed to be, together with the nearby Terribile and Nerita fields, part of a hypothetical large underwater volcano called
Empedocles. However, this hypothesis is not definitively confirmed.
*
Palinuro
Palinuro is an Italian small town, the most populated civil parish (''frazione'') of Centola, Province of Salerno, in the Campania region. The name of the town is derived from Palinurus, the helmsman of Aeneas, as recorded in the fifth and six ...
, an underwater volcano in the Tyrrhenian Sea near the
Cilento
Cilento is an Italian geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the Province of Salerno and an important tourist area of southern Italy.
Cilento is known as one of the centers of Mediterranean diet.
Geography
The co ...
coast. It last erupted around 8,000 BC, and like the Marsili it is considered active and potentially dangerous.
Main extinct volcanoes
In Italy there is also a large number of geological structures due to extinct volcanic centres. It is possible to group these volcanoes into various categories:
* Many smaller
islands belonging to the Italian Republic are of volcanic origin; the remaining
Aeolian Islands
The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named afte ...
(
Alicudi
Alicudi () is the westernmost of the seven islands that make up the Aeolian archipelago, a volcanic island chain north of Sicily. The island is about west of Lipari, has a total area of , and is roughly circular. It is located at .
History
Th ...
,
Filicudi
Filicudi () is one of seven islands that make up the Aeolian archipelago, situated northeast of the island of Sicily, southern Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the '' comune'' of Lipari.
Geography
Its total area is . There are several small vi ...
,
Salina) and
Phlegraean Islands (
Vivara
Vivara is a satellite islet of Procida, one of the three main islands in the Gulf of Naples. (The other two are Ischia and Capri.)
Geography
Vivara flanks Procida to the south-west and is connected to it by a bridge. Vivara is a crescent-shape ...
and
Procida
Procida (; nap, Proceta ) is one of the Flegrean Islands off the coast of Naples in southern Italy. The island is between Cape Miseno and the island of Ischia. With its tiny satellite island of Vivara, it is a ''comune'' of the Metropolitan C ...
), the
Cyclopean Isles
The Cyclopean Isles (Italian: ''Isole Ciclopi''), noted for their rows of basaltic columns piled one above another, lie not far from Mount Etna off the eastern coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea.
Geology
Formed about 500,000 years ago, the ...
,
Ustica,
Linosa
Linosa (; scn, Linusa; ar, نموشة, ''Nammūša'') is one of the Pelagie Islands in the Sicily Channel of the Mediterranean Sea.
The island is a part of the Italian comune of Lampedusa e Linosa, part of the province of Agrigento in Sicily, ...
, the
Pontine Islands and
Capraia
Capraia is an Italian island, the northwesternmost of the seven islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, and the third largest after Elba and Giglio.
It is also a ''comune'' (Capraia Isola) belonging to the Province of Livorno. The island has a p ...
.
*
Lazio anti-
Apennines
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
; this area was particularly rich in volcanic activity up to the
Upper Pleistocene
The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within ...
, leaving behind a large number of volcanoes with a characteristic more or less circular shape (due to the collapse of the magma chamber):
Lake Bolsena,
Lake Bracciano
Lake Bracciano ( it, Lago di Bracciano) is a lake of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. It is the second largest lake in the region (second only to Lake Bolsena) and one of the major lakes of Italy. It has a circ ...
,
Lake Albano
Lake Albano (Italian: ''Lago Albano'' or ''Lago di Castel Gandolfo'') is a small volcanic crater lake in the Alban Hills of Lazio, at the foot of Monte Cavo, southeast of Rome. Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the lake, is the site of the Papal Pala ...
,
Lake Nemi,
Lake Vico. The corresponding volcanic systems are those of the
Alban Hills
The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, but the hi ...
,
Monti Sabatini,
Monti Cimini
The Monti Cimini, in English: Cimini Hills, are a range of densely wooded volcanic hills approximately north-west of Rome. They are part of the Antiapennine range, facing the Apennines main range towards the Tyrrhenian Sea. They are situated ...
,
Monti Volsini
The Monti Volsini or Vulsini are a minor mountain range in northern Lazio, Italy, near the Lake Bolsena. The highest point is that of Passo della Montagnola, in the '' comune'' of Latera, at c. 645 m.
The area is the relic of an ancient vol ...
, and
Monti della Tolfa
The Monti della Tolfa (or Tolfa Mountains) are a volcanic group in the Anti-Apennines of the northern part of the Lazio region of Central Italy. They are bounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea coast to the west, by the Monti Sabatini to the east, and by ...
. The first two considered dormant, the others (despite an alleged eruption of the Volsini in 104 BC) are instead considered definitively extinct.
* Still in the anti-Apennines, to the south, are the
Roccamonfina (in
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
) and the
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
, both dating back to the
Pleistocene.
* To the north, in Tuscany, the
Monte Amiata
Mount Amiata is the largest of the lava domes in the Amiata lava dome complex located about 20 km northwest of Lake Bolsena in the southern Tuscany region of Italy. It is located within the provinces of Grosseto and Siena.
Geology
Mount Am ...
last erupted about 130,000 BC, and which still has a remarkable geothermal activity.
* Much older (dating back to the
Oligocene) are the
Euganean Hills
The Euganean Hills ( it, Colli Euganei ) are a group of hills of volcanic origin that rise to heights of 300 to 600 m from the Padovan-Venetian plain a few km south of Padua. The ''Colli Euganei'' form the first Regional park established in the V ...
in
Veneto.
* In
Valsesia
Valsesia ( pms, Valsesia; Walser German: ''Tseschrutol''; it, Valle della Sesia) is a group of valleys in the north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Vercelli, Italy; the principal valley is that of the river Sesia.
The major towns located ...
(
Piedmont) the remains of an ancient
supervolcano were found, dating back to about 290 million years ago, long before the formation of the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
.
* Among the volcanoes of
Sardinia the main ones are
Monte Arci (whose
obsidian was extracted and exported in
prehistoric times),
Montiferru,
Mount Arcuentu
Mount Arcuentu (Monte Arcuentu), elevation 785 m (2,575 ft), is a volcanic massif situated in southwestern Sardinia, northwest of Arbus. It is a summit of a mountain range which runs parallel to the coastline of Costa Verde for about ...
and the
plateaus of the Giare, of a
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...
ic nature. These are volcanoes dating back to the period between the end of the
Pliocene and the first part of the Pleistocene.
* In the Tyrrhenian Sea there are also numerous submarine volcanoes that are now considered extinct: the Vasilov, the Lametini, the Magnaghi, as well as numerous other underwater mountains whose volcanic nature has only recently been discovered.
Significant eruptions
Vesuvius
The volcanic system of
Somma
A somma volcano (also known as a sommian) is a volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone. The name comes from Mount Somma, a stratovolcano in southern Italy with a summit caldera in which the upper cone of Mount V ...
-
Vesuvius is generally characterized by
explosive eruptions. The most widely-known is the one
that destroyed the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
cities of
Pompeii,
Herculaneum,
Stabiae and
Oplontis
Oplontis is an ancient Roman archaeological site located in the town of Torre Annunziata, south of Naples in the Campania region of southern Italy. The excavated site comprises two Roman villas, the best-known of which is Villa A, the so-called ...
in 79 AD, causing thousands of victims. It is estimated that this eruption had a
Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) equal to 5, and is considered the archetype of
Plinian eruptions, which are named after
Pliny the Younger, an eyewitness of the event.
Scholars have discovered that previously Vesuvius had given rise to even more violent Plinian eruptions, the last of which was that of the
pumice of Avellino about 3,900 BP (estimated to have a VEI of 6). After 79 AD there were no more plinian eruptions, but at most sub-plinian. The most important were that of 472 AD (whose ash reached
Constantinople) and
that of 1631, which killed thousands of people (due to pyroclastic flows and lahars),) and which was taken as a reference by
Protezione Civile
The (Civil Protection), officially (Civil Protection Department), is the national body in Italy that deals with the prediction, prevention and management of emergency events. It was established in 1992 by , which was updated in 2012, and it i ...
for the drafting of evacuation plans in the event of future eruptions. Due to this eruptive history, and the very high population density in the
Metropolitan City of Naples, Vesuvius is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
Phlegraean Fields
Unlike Vesuvius, the nearby
Phlegraean Fields are not made up of a single large volcanic edifice, but are a vast volcanic field within which numerous eruptive vents have opened, often different from eruptions. The only eruption in historical times, which generated
Monte Nuovo
Monte Nuovo ("New Mountain") is a cinder cone volcano within the Campi Flegrei caldera, near Naples, southern Italy. A series of damaging earthquakes and changes in land elevation preceded its only eruption, during the most recent part of the ...
and
Lake Avernus, was of low intensity, and was preceded by a period of quiescence that lasted more than 3,000 years (before which there was a long sequence of close eruptions). However, the Phlegraean Fields are capable of extremely violent eruptions, which earned them the title of
supervolcano.
The most famous was that of the
Campanian Ignimbrite eruption, which occurred about 40,000 BP, considered the most violent ever to occur in the Mediterranean area, having a VEI equal to 7, and which probably had effects on the climate worldwide. Only slightly less intense was that of the Neapolitan yellow tuff, which occurred about 15,000 BP. There are also indications of a third large-magnitude eruption, which probably occurred 29,000 BP. For this reason, the Phlegraean Fields are also closely monitored by the
Vesuvius Observatory
The Vesuvius Observatory ( it, Osservatorio Vesuviano) is the surveillance centre for monitoring the three volcanic areas of Campania, Italy: Mount Vesuvius, the Phlegrean Fields and Ischia. Founded in 1841 on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius by Fe ...
.
They are also characterized by numerous secondary volcanic phenomena, of which the best known is the Phlegraean
bradyseism
Bradyseism is the gradual uplift (positive bradyseism) or descent (negative bradyseism) of part of the Earth's surface caused by the filling or emptying of an underground magma chamber or hydrothermal activity, particularly in volcanic calderas. ...
, which in the second half of the 1900s led to the evacuation of entire districts of the city of
Pozzuoli.
Etna
Etna is characterized by an almost continuous eruptive activity, and, unlike Vesuvius, the eruptions of Etna tend to be effusive, with lava flows that can come from both the summit craters and side openings. These eruptions almost always do not cause high damage, but there are exceptions. The largest
effusive eruption
An effusive eruption is a type of volcanic eruption in which lava steadily flows out of a volcano onto the ground.
Overview
There are two major groupings of eruptions: effusive and explosive. Effusive eruption differs from explosive eruption, ...
of Etna in historical times
took place in 1669, when the
lava buried numerous villages reaching the sea near
Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...
, with a flow up to 17 km long. This eruption completely changed the landscape of the area, but due to its effusive nature there were no victims associated with the eruption.
Another eruption of similar magnitude occurred in 396 BC, when the lava flows, reaching the sea, hindered the advance of the
Carthaginian army The term Carthaginian ( la, Carthaginiensis ) usually refers to a citizen of Ancient Carthage.
It can also refer to:
* Carthaginian (ship), a three-masted schooner built in 1921
* Insurgent privateers; nineteenth-century South American privateers, ...
of
Himilco during the
Greco-Punic wars (as described by
Diodorus Siculus). A few dozen deaths were recorded in
Bronte in the eruption of 1843, due to a phreatic explosion due to contact between the lava and a source of water. The last highly destructive eruption occurred in 1928, when the lava buried the town of
Mascali
Mascali ( Sicilian: ''Màscali'') is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about northeast of Catania
Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second ...
. In the 1979 eruption, a sudden explosion caused nine deaths and 23 injuries in a group of tourists on excursion, and in that same eruption the last official order to evacuate an inhabited centre was issued due to an eruption of Etna.
The great explosive eruption of 122 BC, a Plinian event, which caused serious damage to the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
city of Catania, which for this reason was exempt from paying taxes to
Rome for a decade, was completely different. A further explosive eruption, of a sub-Plinian type, occurred in 44 BC. This eruptive history, associated with the high population density of the
Metropolitan City of Catania
The Metropolitan City of Catania ( it, Città metropolitana di Catania) is a metropolitan city in Sicily, southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Catania. It replaced the Province of Catania and comprises the city of Catania and other 57 municip ...
(but with a less problematic situation than that of Naples), therefore requires continuous surveillance of the volcano.
Stromboli
Stromboli is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, with almost persistent activity for at least 2,000 years, which is why it was nicknamed the "lighthouse of the Mediterranean". Usually this activity consists of a continuous degassing, interspersed with small bursts of low intensity, at temporal distances that can vary from a few minutes to a few hours, a type of eruption that is defined precisely as
Strombolian.
About 1–2 times per decade, lava can overflow from the summit craters, forming flows that can also reach the sea. These flows usually go towards the north-western area of the island, in the so-called
Sciara del Fuoco
Sciara del Fuoco is a talus scree or depression located on Stromboli Island in Italy. It runs along the island's northern flank and is bounded by two ridges. It now serves as a major tourist attraction on the island.
Formation
Sciara del F ...
(a depression shaped like a horseshoe, formed about 6,000 BP,) away from the inhabited settlements. At irregular intervals, Stromboli can give rise to much more violent explosions than normal, called paroxysms, which can instead cause damage to the population.
On 11 September 1930, what is considered the most violent eruptive event of the volcano in the last 13 centuries, occurred with a massive fallout of volcanic material on the inhabited centre of
Ginostra and the formation of a
pyroclastic flow outside the Sciara del Fuoco. In total, there were four deaths and numerous buildings destroyed. The most recent paroxysmal events occurred on 3 July and 28 August 2019, with the former explosion causing the death of a hiker. In these eruptions, pyroclastic flows able to flow over the sea for a few hundred meters have also been observed.
A further source of danger about Stromboli is the risk of landslides (often in correspondence with the paroxysms), both aerial and submarine, capable of causing
tsunami waves. The last event of this type occurred on 30 December 2002, when the wave did damage to coastal buildings. An underwater landslide event of greater proportions could have caused the
tsunami in the Gulf of Naples in 1343.
See also
*
Geology of Italy
The geology of Italy includes mountain ranges such as the Alps and the Apennines formed from the uplift of igneous and primarily marine sedimentary rocks all formed since the Paleozoic. Some active volcanoes are located in Insular Italy.
Geolog ...
*
Geothermal power in Italy
Geothermal power accounts for about 1.6-1.8% of the total electric energy production in Italy and is about 7% of the total renewable energy produced in 2010.
The total energy from Geothermal was 5,660 GWh in 2015. Italy is the seventh country ...
*
List of volcanoes in Italy
*
National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology ( it, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, INGV) is a research institute for geophysics and volcanology in Italy.
INGV is funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and ...
References
External links
Information about Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei, Ischia and StromboliInformation about Etna, Stromboli, Lipari and VulcanoLarderello isn't a volcano
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volcanism Of Italy
*