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 of the eruption (until 30 March 1993) the lava never advanced close to the town again. Following six years (1995–2001) of unusually intense activity at the four summit craters of Etna, the volcano produced its first flank eruption since 1991–1993 in July–August 2001. This eruption, which involved activity from seven distinct eruptive fissures mostly on the south slope of the volcano, was a mass-media eruption, because it occurred at the height of the tourist season and numerous reporters and journalists were already in Italy to cover the G8 summit in Genoa. It also occurred close to one of the tourist