2-982-173 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Crater of Mount Etna in 1809 - from a sketch by Signor Gimmellaro, 1858. 'Before us and beneath us was the crater of Etna. The circumference of the crater, according to Sig. Gimmellaro, was from two to two miles and a half, and surrounded by precipitous cliffs of from 200 to 300 feet in height, except on the side where we were standing, which sloped down at an angle of about 30°, with a very smooth surface, composed of ashes and sulphur. Down this one of our party had a very narrow escape of being precipitated. His feet slipped in attempting to descend, and with very great difficulty he succeeded in stopping himself...clouds of white smoke, like steam, came rolling up from the bottom, which was covered with large stones and ashes, and a red-looking earth, which seemed to have rolled from the cliffs above. The appearance and shape of the crater is continually changing'. From "Illustrated London News", 1858.