9 May 2005

Although no modifications have been made on this site for a long time, it is not dead, and just had its tenth birthday (8 May). One reason for the site having become so quiet is that I am now under contract (research grant - assegno di ricerca) with the Catania section of the Istituto Nazionale di Vulcanologia, which is the organization in charge of monitoring, and reporting on, the activity of the Sicilian volcanoes. Certainly one or the other of my observations will contribute to the institute's output, but it's no longer a one-man show. This site will occasionally have new photos and updates on the volcano reference pages, whenever I find the time.

3 November 2004

Photographs of a recent student excursion to the Valle del Bove and the active lava flows of the current flank eruption and of a visit to the summit craters have been posted in the 2004 Etna photo gallery. Furthermore, the Etna references have been updated again, as Mount Etna continues to be the most published volcano on Earth.

10 October 2004

The Etna references and Vesuvio references have been once more updated.

30 September 2004

Due to the continued surge of publications regarding the volcanoes of Italy (in the first place, Mount Etna), updating of the Etna references, Stromboli references, and Vesuvio references references has become necessary. For information concerning visits to the site of the current flank eruption of Etna, go to the Etna excursions page.

17 September 2004

A new page of the Etna photo gallery has been posted, which contains photographs of the reconstruction at the two tourist stations on the mountain. Some photographs of the new (September 2004) eruption of the volcano will be posted soon, although other web sites offer photographs of far better quality (see the former Etna News page for links). Due to this new eruption some modifications have been necessary in the Etna FAQ section. Recent changes in the policy regarding excursions to Etna are reported on the Etna excursions page.

8 September 2004

An intense summer term at the Mediterranean Center for Arts and Sciences (MCAS) has passed for me, followed by vacations and several performances at the International Geological Congress in Florence in August 2004, now lectures at the MCAS are re-starting, and thus little time is left for work on this site. Yet I have posted new information in the Etna references section and on my "Curriculum Vitae" page. And this is also the occasion to celebrate the 15th anniversary of my first visit to the volcanoes of Italy, which culminated with my first view of a great eruption at Etna, in the second half of September 1989.

30 May 2004

As the avalanche of scientific publications about the Italian volcanoes continues, I have updated the Stromboli and Vesuvio bibliographic pages. I have furthermore completely revamped the Salina home page, which was in a truly deplorable state; it now renders a much better impression of this charming island in the Aeolian archipelago.

23 April 2004

While working on different sections of this site, which will be revealed in the near future, I have added the latest scientific publications about Mount Etna in the Etna references section. Like in 2003, Etna continues to be the subject of numerous publications in international journals, more than any other volcano on Earth.

21 February 2004

Reporting on the current situation of Mount Etna on the Etna News page will be discontinued from now on. This is a difficult decision, but there are good reasons for it. In the case of renewed eruptive activity, reference will be made to other sources of up-to-date information (first among these, the Catania Section of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, which is responsible of monitoring the Sicilian volcanoes). In addition, future eruptive events will be described in a long-term perspective, similar to that given of the eruptions of 2001 and 2002-2003. Apart from this change, the site will continue to be alive and to serve as a base reference on volcanism in Italy, as can be seen from the latest additions and modifications to the site listed in the previous update (which did not get on-line until today). To these have to be added the new pages showing some of Etna's flank cones: Monte Barca, Monte Paparìa, Monte Ruvolo and Monte Arso. These pages are still lacking maps showing the locations of these cones.

1 February 2004

One month of the new year has passed calmly, giving me the opportunity to make substantial additions to this site. I have completed scanning through my 2003 photographs of Etna and set up two pages showing the photographs of September-October 2003 (start here). Then, there is a fully new page about the island of Panarea (one of the Aeolian Islands), where submarine fumarolic activity has shown a new increase a few days ago. On the occasion of the 30th birthday of the eruption of the Monti De Fiore, on the western flank of Etna, I have fully re-designed the page dedicated to this eruption and added many photographs showing the site of the eruption as it looks today. A further page about one of Etna's more than 300 flank cones and craters, Mompilieri (on the south flank) has been posted as a prototype of the pages describing the flank cones of Etna. Finally, new references have been added to the Etna bibliography, one of which is also included in my "Curriculum Vitae".

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Copyright © Boris Behncke, "Italy's Volcanoes: The Cradle of Volcanology"