Etna Lava Tubes Project was born with the aim of spreading knowledge of little-known or unpublished Etna caves. Natural phenomena among the most fascinating of our volcano. Many texts report that on Etna there are at least 260 known caves. In reality the formation of lava tubes is very common and the number of caves is destined to increase considerably. Below we report a census of little-known caves - for which information is not available elsewhere - or unpublished discovered by our team in particular by the founders of EtnaExcursion.it Dario & Paolo Teri. During an exploratory campaign that began "for fun" in 2018 and still (April 2023), about 70 have been found, not considered in the general count indicated above. Here we report only those considered most interesting from a naturalistic point of view. For the caves already surveyed we recommend a visit to EtnaNatura.it and Mungibeddu.it
Exploration: Easily accessible and visitable with just lights and helmet.
Taken over by Dario and Paolo Teri (on 23.3.2021)
Notified to the relevant municipality on \\
This cave is also located on the lavas of 1792/3, the same flows that gave rise to some of the most beautiful and well-known caves on Etna, including the Grotta dei Tre livello and the Grotta Ktm. The cavity is accessed from a collapse of modest dimensions marked by surveyors by a rock man. This hypogeum is wider than it is long and extends over a large room and a more modest and lower one. There are two elements of great naturalistic interest: a beautiful roll with an undulating S shape that follows the direction of a channel that closes after a few meters. In the smaller room mentioned above, a large concave area opens up on the ceiling, a good meter wide and about 50 cm deep. It seems to be a blister, a gas bubble that caused the liquid lava flowing inside the tunnel to explode. This hypothesis seems to be confirmed by the swelling of the rock that forms the edges of the concavity. This very particular characteristic element has led to the Grotta dei Blister being considered the most suitable name.
At the time of the survey, there were no typical men or other signs of human passage, leading us to hypothesize that it could be an unpublished or very little-known cave.
In the immediate vicinity there are two other caves worth visiting, discovered by the same “explorers”: the Spiderman cave and the Grotta dei Cunicoli.
Dario Teri 23 March 2021 Unseen & Little-Known Etna Caves No Responses
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How are volcanic caves formed?
Lava tubes are very common on Etna. They form during an eruption ...
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16th August 2023 – On August 14th there was a paroxysm (a “lightning” eruption) from the summit craters which has already ended. Everything falls within the normal Etna phenomena. There is no danger for the population and visitors. The excursions are taking place regularly. GO TO NEWS