Italian Volcano Stromboli Erupts, Spewing Lava and Smoke

Stromboli, a historically active volcano located on the island of Stromboli, just off the northern tip of Sicily, erupted this weekend on Oct. 9. The volcano has been active for at least 2,000 years and has erupted several times this year alone.

The island of Stromboli, part of the Aeolian archipelago, is home to roughly 400 people. The eruption caused Italian civil protection authorities to issue an orange alert to Stromboli’s residents. A series of explosions within the volcano caused a partial collapse of the crater rim. Streams of lava oozed down the northern crater of the volcano and into the Tyrrhenian Sea as massive plumes of smoke shot hundreds of feet into the air. The explosion was so big that it was seen from space –  the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Earth-observing mission Sentinel-2 managed to capture an image of the volcano less than five hours after it erupted. 

Stromboli has been regularly erupting since 1932, making it one of the world’s most active volcanoes. The volcano itself is ancient – the submarine formation was formed over a million years ago and the first eruptions began taking place some 200,000 years ago, according to Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. One of three active volcanoes in Italy, Stromboli has been nicknamed the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean due to its frequent, minor eruptions that can be seen from long distances, especially at night. 

The volcano’s eruptions during the past half-century have been relatively calm. However, in the past few years, eruptions have been growing increasingly more potent and violent. In July 2019, a paroxysm killed a hiker and injured several others, causing authorities to close the summit to visitors.