“Etna giveth and Etna taketh away” is the mantra of the locals who have lived in symbiosis for millennia with this imposing volcanic peak—one of the most active in the world—that looms over Sicily’s eastern coastline.

Its uninterrupted belching of ash and dust for the past 500,000 years has coated Mt. Etna’s slopes in a fertile mantle of volcanic soil, giving life to lush vineyards, orchards, and other rich agricultural lands.