By GIUSEPPE DISTEFANO and GIADA ZAMPANO Associated Press
MOUNT ETNA, Italy (AP) — Guides who take tourists to enjoy the striking views of Sicily’s Mount Etna are up in arms over tougher restrictions imposed by local authorities after a round of eruptions at the giant volcano in recent weeks.
Authorities in the city of Catania have suspended or restricted excursions to see the volcano’s lava flows, prompting guides to go on strike for the first time in decades and leaving disgruntled tourists with fewer options to see the spectacle up close.
Dozens of the guides demonstrated Wednesday in front of Mount Etna’s lava flow gate, calling the new restrictions excessive and saying the lava flows are slow-moving enough to be viewed safely as has been done in the past.
“These measures effectively nullify the role of guides, stripping them of their skills, function, and professional responsibility,” a statement by the guides’ regional board said.
The lava flows are especially spectacular after sunset, but under the new rules, excursions are allowed only until dusk and can go no closer than 200 meters (660 feet) to the lava flow. Also, a previously existing limit of 10 people per group is being vigorously enforced, including with drones.
Mount Etna is Europe’s most active volcano and the continent’s largest. It attracts hikers and backpackers to its slopes, while less adventurous tourists can take it in from a distance, most stunningly from the Ionian Sea.
At 3,350 meters (almost 10,990 feet) tall and 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) wide, the Sicilian giant frequently offers a front-row seat to nature’s power. Last June, a massive eruption forced tourists to flee the volcano after a plume of high-temperature gases, ash and rock several kilometers high billowed into the air above them.
The latest restrictions were adopted after Mount Etna started a round of eruptions on Christmas Eve.
The most advanced lava front reached 1,360 meters (4,460 feet) above sea level, before stopping and entering a cooling phase after a journey of approximately 3.4 kilometers (about 2 miles), local authorities said. The lava flow poses no danger to nearby residential areas, volcanologists say.
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology confirmed this week that Mount Etna’s eruption is ongoing, but said the lava fronts are cooling and not advancing further.
“This is a lava flow that is descending very slowly on an area that is now also flat or semi-flat,” said Dario Teri, 43, a member of Sicily’s association of alpine and volcano guides who participated in Wednesday’s protest.
The guides, who are expected to continue their strike in the coming days, hope to come to a compromise with authorities that can protect their profession while also ensuring the safety of visitors.
Claudia Mancini, a 32-year-old tourist, said she came from Palermo for an excursion with a guide at Mount Etna.
“Unfortunately, we got the bad news of the cancelling of all activity,” Mancini said, adding that she sympathized with the guides over a situation that “is not making anyone happy.”
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Zampano reported from Rome.