What souvenirs will you bring back with you, to remember your spectacular trip to Mount Etna? What memories will you make your own in order to see those moments, those emotions on our great volcano again? Tourists visiting Sicily tend to always buy the same old, now stereotyped objects: the cart, the “Pupo” in armour, the ceramic pine cone or the painted plate and, more recently, the questionable puppets of the Mafia Man and Mafia Girl. But if you are on Etna, what are the souvenirs that you should choose? Let’s see at least five that are worth buying.
The traditional lava stone ashtray
The lava ashtray forger (VIDEO HERE) is more than a craftsman. He is a hero. To create these works, in fact, he literally bends over the river of lava and takes with a large metal stick fragments of magma, working it still boiling, on site. With the tools of expertise, he crushes and stretches the lava creating these objects – usually round in shape – which he will finally immerse in cold water to harden. Traditional ashtrays are rough, not exactly perfect in shape… but they are the “top” of Etna souvenirs.
The original lava stone ashtray
More elaborate ashtrays, cold-sculpted and decorated, are instead those that have well-defined shapes: the shape of Sicily, the square shape, the shape of a volcanic cone (the cigarette is inserted into a hole at the base and the smoke will come out of the open “crater” above). This type of ashtray will be worked and finished with more attention, and certainly makes a good impression on a table or shelf, but has a little less volcanic “charm” than the traditional ones. In any case, they will be the subject of conversation, during a smokers dinner!
The photo calendar
Perhaps the most banal of souvenirs, but essential to take with you the power of emotions an active volcano gives. The photo calendars of Etna collect photos of the most spectacular eruptions, those that not all tourists have been able to see. This souvenir can be bought everywhere, in specialized shops and in the markets that arise around the volcano. Also at the most important tourist stations (Rifugio Sapienza, Piano Provenzana). It may not be the most original memory in the world, but every month the fire and the lava fountains of Etna will fill your home with color and memories.
The art work
Looking for – and finding – works of art made with lava or lapilli is almost a must on Etna. And it is also easy to track down artists (painters and sculptors) who create their works with the “help” of these particular materials. Some of them sit right in the most crowded spots for tourists – for example at the Silvestri Craters – and create their works there, in front of them. Others have studios, especially in Zafferana and Milo. So the volcano ash can become the completion of the painting of an eruption, while a lava stone artfully dug and filled with earth can also become an original vase for small plants.
Ash and lapilli
And finally… why not? Even the ash (sand) and lapilli of Etna are a nice souvenir! Collecting them on the volcano is prohibited, because it is a protected park and no element can be taken away. But thanks to the countless “pyroclastic clouds” that often cover the piedmont villages with ash and lapilli, the population has developed a real trade in these materials – after collecting them directly in their gardens. The volcanic material is usually washed, dried thoroughly in the sun, then packaged and sold – even via Ebay or Amazon – to anyone who requests it. (PHOTOS BY GRAZIA MUSUMECI)