Stromboli (volcano)

Stromboli ( , ; ) is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing Mount Stromboli, one of the four active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the seven Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily, and the mythological home of Aeolus.

The island, with an area of , represents the upper third of the volcano. Its population was about 500 . The volcano has erupted many times and is constantly active with minor eruptions, often visible from many points on the island and from the surrounding sea, giving rise to the island's nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean".

Etymology

The name Stromboli is derived from the Ancient Greek name , () which was derived from (, 'round'), after the volcano's round, conical appearance when seen from a distance.

Height and shape

Stromboli stands above sea level,
and over above the sea floor.

The area of Stromboli island is .

As of June 2024, there are two active craters at the peak, each with multiple vents showing volcanic activity and lava flows.

The Sciara del Fuoco ("stream of fire") is a large horseshoe-shaped depression created in the last 13,000 years by several collapses on the northwestern side of the cone. Approximately northeast lies Strombolicchio, the volcanic plug remnant of the original volcano.

Volcano

Mount Stromboli has been in almost continuous eruption for the past 2,000–5,000 years; its last serious one occurred on 11 September, 1930 where 6 people were killed. A pattern of eruption is maintained in which explosions occur at the summit craters, with mild to moderate eruptions of incandescent volcanic bombs, a type of tephra, at intervals ranging from minutes to hours. This pattern of Strombolian eruption, as it is known, is also observed at other volcanoes worldwide.

Eruptions from the summit craters typically result in a few short, mild, but energetic bursts, ranging up to a few hundred meters in height, containing ash, incandescent lava fragments, and stone blocks. Stromboli's activity is almost exclusively explosive, but lava flows do occur at times when volcanic activity is high: an effusive eruption occurred in 2002, the first in 17 years, and again in 2003, 2007, and 2013–14. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured by a multi-component gas analyzer system, which detects pre-eruptive degassing of rising magma, improving prediction of volcanic activity.

On 3 July 2019, two major explosive events occurred at around 16:46 local time, alongside 20 additional minor explosive events identified by Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. A hiker near the volcano's summit died after being struck by flying debris when the eruption began. Additionally, 6 people suffered minor injuries due to the eruption.

On 28 August 2019, at 10:16 local time, an explosive eruption sent a pyroclastic flow down the volcano's northern flank and into the sea, where it continued for several hundred meters before collapsing. The resulting ash column reached a height of .

On 4 July 2024, Stromboli erupted along with Mount Etna, and the Italian Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile) issued the highest alert level.

Settlements

Two villages, San Bartolo and San Vincenzo, lie in the northeast, while the smaller village Ginostra lies in the southwest. Administratively, they are one of the (unit of a commune and municipality) of Lipari, Messina.

In the early 20th century, a few thousand people inhabited the island, but after several waves of emigration, the population has numbered a few hundred since the mid-1950s. The population on the island was about 500 .

In addition to Italian, a derivative of the Sicilian dialect that is called Aeolian is generally spoken on this and the other Aeolian islands.

In popular culture

* In ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (1864) by Jules Verne, the conclusion of the novel is set on Stromboli.
* Author J. R. R. Tolkien identified his fictional volcano Mount Doom in Mordor with the volcano of Stromboli, according to scholar Clyde S. Kilby.
* ''Stromboli'' (1950), also known as ''Stromboli, Land of God'', is an Italian-American film set on Stromboli, directed by Roberto Rossellini and starring Ingrid Bergman.
*Rising Appalachia's 2015 song "Stromboli" was written on and titled after the island. The studio version appears on ''Wider Circles'' (2015), and a live version appears on '' Alive''.
*The lyrics of the Woody Guthrie song "Ingrid Bergman" (set to music & released on the 1998 album ''Mermaid Avenue'' by Billy Bragg & Wilco) focus on images of the actress in the Rossellini film ''Stromboli'', and erotic references to the island's volcanic nature.
*An Italian-American savory pastry is named stromboli after the island.
* The novel '' The Book of the Dead'', written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child features the island as part of its conclusion.

See also

* 2002 Stromboli tsunami
* List of islands of Italy
* Vulcano (Sicily)

References

External links

*

Information about Stromboli and on its seismic monitoring network (italian)

BBC documentary Island of Fire

Scuola In Mezzo Al Mare
School in the Middle of the Sea documentary (2019)

{{Authority control

Islands of Italy
Islands of Sicily
Aeolian Islands

Volcanic islands