Mount Etna in Sicily has erupted spewing lava and ash into the air and forcing the closure of two airports in nearby Catania
ADVERTISEMENTItaly's largest live volcano Mount Etna erupted overnight on Friday spewing out lava and filling the skies over Sicily with volcanic ash.
Two airports in the island's second-largest city of Catania were forced to close before eventually reopening on Saturday.
The Europe's tallest and most active volcano often erupts but rarely causes damage, while the eruptions themselves do not put the local population at risk.
The last major eruption was in 1992.
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Italy has a range of active and dormant volcanoes - the most famous being Mount Vesuvius on the mainland near Naples which erupted in AD79 killing thousands in the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Earlier this month, the volcano on the island of Stromboli erupted suddenly killing a Sicilian hiker who had been climbing the mountain with a Brazilian companion who was later found in shock and dehydrated but otherwise unharmed.
Tourists were evacuated from the island after running to take cover in the sea when the eruption started.
One hotel worker Michela Favorito told Reuters she heard a "loud roar" and a "cloud of ash" swept over them.