MOUNT ETNA, Italy -- Guides who instrumentality tourists to bask the striking views of Sicily’s Mount Etna are up successful arms implicit tougher restrictions imposed by section authorities aft a circular of eruptions astatine the elephantine volcano successful caller weeks.
Authorities successful the metropolis of Catania person suspended oregon restricted excursions to spot the volcano's lava flows, prompting guides to spell connected onslaught for the archetypal clip successful decades and leaving disgruntled tourists with less options to spot the spectacle up close.
Dozens of the guides demonstrated Wednesday successful beforehand of Mount Etna’s lava travel gate, calling the caller restrictions excessive and saying the lava flows are slow-moving capable to beryllium viewed safely arsenic has been done successful the past.
“These measures efficaciously nullify the relation of guides, stripping them of their skills, function, and nonrecreational responsibility,” a connection by the guides’ determination committee said.
The lava flows are particularly spectacular aft sunset, but nether the caller rules, excursions are allowed lone until dusk and tin spell nary person than 200 meters (660 feet) to the lava flow. Also, a antecedently existing bounds of 10 radical per radical is being vigorously enforced, including with drones.
Mount Etna is Europe’s astir progressive volcano and the continent’s largest. It attracts hikers and backpackers to its slopes, portion little adventurous tourists tin instrumentality it successful from a distance, astir stunningly from the Ionian Sea.
At 3,350 meters (almost 10,990 feet) gangly and 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) wide, the Sicilian elephantine often offers a front-row spot to nature’s power. Last June, a monolithic eruption forced tourists to fly the volcano aft a plume of high-temperature gases, ash and stone respective kilometers precocious billowed into the aerial supra them.
The latest restrictions were adopted aft Mount Etna started a circular of eruptions connected Christmas Eve.
The astir precocious lava beforehand reached 1,360 meters (4,460 feet) supra oversea level, earlier stopping and entering a cooling signifier aft a travel of astir 3.4 kilometers (about 2 miles), section authorities said. The lava travel poses nary information to adjacent residential areas, volcanologists say.
Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology confirmed this week that Mount Etna’s eruption is ongoing, but said the lava fronts are cooling and not advancing further.
“This is simply a lava travel that is descending precise dilatory connected an country that is present besides level oregon semi-flat,” said Dario Teri, 43, a subordinate of Sicily’s relation of alpine and volcano guides who participated successful Wednesday’s protest.
The guides, who are expected to proceed their onslaught successful the coming days, anticipation to travel to a compromise with authorities that tin support their assemblage portion besides ensuring the information of visitors.
Claudia Mancini, a 32-year-old tourist, said she came from Palermo for an excursion with a usher astatine Mount Etna.
“Unfortunately, we got the atrocious quality of the cancelling of each activity,” Mancini said, adding that she sympathized with the guides implicit a concern that ”is not making anyone happy.”
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Zampano reported from Rome.
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