Mount Etna

Historical eventMarch 111669

Mount Etna

Mount Etna in Sicily began erupting, eventually producing the largest lava flow in the volcano's history, and damaging Catania and other towns.

Everything on March 11Original source

In context

When
Monday, March 11 1669357 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
17th century · 1660s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

The Gregorian calendar was in use in Catholic Europe from 1582, but Britain and its colonies kept the Julian calendar until 14 September 1752 — sources from those places may date this event 10–11 days earlier.

At a glance

Dates: From 300000 BCE.

Place: Metropolitan City of Catania, Italy.

Type: stratovolcano and decipoint.

What happened

History of volcanic eruptions See also: List of Mount Etna eruptions Eruptions of Etna follow multiple patterns. Most occur at the summit, where there are five distinct craters: the Northeast Crater, the Voragine, the Bocca Nuova, and two at the Southeast Crater Complex. Other eruptions occur on the flanks, which have more than 300 vents ranging in size from small holes in the ground to large craters hundreds of metres across.

Mount Etna, or simply Etna, is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina and Catania. It is located above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is one of the tallest active volcanoes in Europe, and the tallest peak in Italy south of the Alps with a current height of 3,403 m (11,165 ft), though this varies with summit eruptions. For instance,

March 11 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1669Mount Etna
  2. 2008Space Shuttle Endeavour
  3. 20092009 Winnenden shootings
  4. 2010Sebastián Piñera
  5. 20112011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
  6. 2012Kandahar massacre
  7. 2012United States Army
  8. 2018Bombardier Challenger 600 series
  9. 2020World Health Organization
  10. 2021President of the United States
  11. 2023Tatmadaw

Sources

Cite this page

“Mount Etna”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/mount-etna-1669-march-11, accessed October 28, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Mount Etna happen?

March 11 1669 — 357 years ago, on a Monday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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