Review of cultural and scientific events 350 years after the great eruption.
From March 4 to July 14 2019 will take place the Review of cultural and scientific events Etna 1669. Stories of lava dedicated to the great eruption of Etna, the most devastating and documented for the times.
Under the Patronage of the Presidency of the Sicilian Region, in synergy with the Regional Assessments BB.CC. and I.S. and Tourism, Sports and Entertainment, the event provides a rich calendar of events that affect all the municipalities involved in the historic event.
The program was overseen by the Superintendency BB.CC.AA. of Catania together with the Italian Alpine Club (CAI – Section Catania), the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV – Osservatorio Etneo of Catania), the Tourist Service of Catania, the University of Catania, the Park Authority of Etna, the Metropolitan City of Catania, the Archdiocese of Catania, the Academy of Fine Arts, the Orders and Professional Colleges of the territory.
On March 11, 1669, exactly 350 years ago, what will be the biggest eruption of the Etna occurred in the last four centuries, both from a volcanological and historical point of view. For this reason, 1669 was defined by the population affected by the volcanic event the year of the great ‘ruina’ (ruin).
During this phenomenon from the main mouth, located at 800 m altitude near Nicolosi, about 600 million m3 of lava were erupted, which generated a vast lava field 17 km long, affecting a large part of what is now the territory of the metropolitan area of Catania and in particular the municipalities of Belpasso, Camporotondo Etneo, Catania, Gravina di Catania, Mascalucia, Misterbianco, Nicolosi, Pedara and San Pietro Clarenza. The eruption ended four months later, July 11, after generating the largest volcanic emergency ever occurred on Etna, reaching the sea and moving with ‘new lands’ the coastline of just under a kilometer.
An event that more than any other has influenced the history of the Etna populations of the southern side of Etna, also influencing the productive and economic activities.
A dramatic and at the same time extraordinary event, which has canceled over 12 houses, documented by numerous chronicles of the time, by Italian and foreign travelers, by numerous iconographies and precious devotional objects. An event that has changed forever the morphology of the southern side of Etna due to a lava flow that in a short time has made sterile 40 km2 of what was the productive territory, and therefore the main economy of the most urbanized area of the Etna region.
In the context of the Review will be held:
– Seven Conferences, conducted by authoritative scholars and researchers who illustrate the different phenomena and consequences of the Etna area
– Five exhibitions that focus on materials, works of art and precious documents that are often unpublished and unknown.
– Numerous excursion programs for different audiences: from speleological excursions, to cycle touring, from the extended access walk to the trekking in the lava, accompanied by expert guides.
The aim of the Review is the invitation to know and consciously live a particular territory such as the Etna volcanic area, which has obtained UNESCO recognition.
It is an extraordinary place that exerts and manifests the great power of nature, a place that requires special attention and tricks to be inhabited. And the review will show how to live these places without being remembered as those of the ‘great ruin’.
Info:
Superintendency for the Cultural and Environmental Heritage of Catania:
Tel. 095 747211
e-mail: [email protected]
Contact person: Dr. Franco La Fico Guzzo
e-mail: [email protected]
Mobile. 340 3886977
