MOUNT ETNA: Guides who take tourists to enjoy the striking views of Sicily’s Mount Etna are up in arms over tougher restrictions imposed by local authorities after a round of eruptions at the giant volcano in recent weeks.
Authorities in the city of Catania have suspended or restricted excursions to see the volcano’s lava flows, prompting guides to go on strike for the first time in decades and leaving disgruntled tourists with fewer options to see the spectacle up close.
Dozens of guides demonstrated on Wednesday in front of Mount Etna’s lava flow gate, calling the new restrictions excessive and saying the lava flows are slow-moving enough to be viewed safely, as has been done in the past.
“These measures effectively nullify the role of guides, stripping them of their skills, function, and professional responsibility,” a statement by the guides’ regional board said.
The lava flows are especially spectacular after sunset, but under the new rules, excursions are allowed only until dusk and can go no closer than 200 metres (660 feet) to the lava flow. Also, a previously existing limit of 10 people per group is being vigorously enforced, including with drones.
Mount Etna is Europe’s most active volcano and the continent’s largest. It attracts hikers and backpackers to its slopes, while less adventurous tourists can take it in from a distance, most stunningly from the Ionian Sea. At 3,350 metres (almost 10,990 feet) tall and 35 kilometres (21.7 miles) wide, the Sicilian giant frequently offers a front-row seat to nature’s power. Last June, a massive eruption forced tourists to flee the volcano after a plume of high-temperature gases, ash and rock several kilometres high billowed into the air above them.