Italian cruiser Etna Italian cruiser Etna Etna was a protected cruiser of the Italian "Regia Marina" (Royal Navy) built in the 1880s. She was the lead ship of the , which included three sister ships. Named for Mount Etna on the island of Sicily, the ship was laid down in January 1883, was launched in September 1885, and was completed in December 1887. She was armed with a main battery of two and six guns, and could steam at a speed of around . "Etna" frequently cruised abroad throughout her career, including visits to the United States for the World's Columbian Exposition and
Mount Etna largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. Only Mount Teide on Tenerife (Spain) surpasses it in the whole of the European–North-African region west of the Black Sea. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under this mountain by Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder and king of gods, and the forges of Hephaestus were said to also be located underneath it. Mount Etna is one of the world’s most active volcanoes and is in an almost constant state of activity.