Mount Etna

Looking at all the ashes surrounding us on the bus ride up I thought about how it must have been when lava was flowing down the mountain. As we reached the near top of the volcano, we could see areas of green and, right next to them, lines of black ash. It amazed me to think about how at one point all those black ashes were boiling hot lava. Our tour guide mentioned that the last terrible eruption occurred in 2002. We saw houses that were covered in ash, and it was crazy to see how people could unbury the houses and they were still being used. I also thought it was really interesting how the volcano is like a mother figure to the Sicilians. This brings in the idea of a matriarchal society that we have been seeing throughout the Mediterranean. The volcano also helps the people living in Sicily because they can use it for resources. They used the ashes and stones from the volcanoes to build houses. We also saw that in the monastery they built structures on top on the ashes and used the resources that they had to better their architecture. I like how they think of the volcano as their life-giver and not a threat.