Trecastagni hosts the fourth edition of the Volcani-Etna Festival

The scientific program offers an in-depth overview of the history of volcanology and the current lines of research dedicated to the main Italian eruptive complexes, integrating specialist conferences with documentary exhibition itineraries. The official opening of the event is scheduled for Friday 26 June at the headquarters of the Trecastagni Foundation, in Largo del Bianco, where Stefano Branca, Director of the Volcanoes Department of the INGV, will illustrate the contents of the photographic exhibition dedicated to Gaetano Ponte, academic of the University of Catania and an important figure in volcanology in the second half of the 20th century. The evening session will continue with an in-depth study conducted by the researcher of the Palermo Section of the INGV, Franco Foresta Martin, focused on the geological characteristics and structural evolution of the volcanic island of Ustica.

The second day of the festival expands the geographical scope towards the volcanic systems of southern Italyshifting attention to high-risk Campania complexes. On Saturday 27 June Lucia Pappalardo, Director of the INGV Vesuvian Observatory in Naples, will lead a technical conference aimed at analyzing the internal structure and state of activity of Vesuvius, the Campi Flegrei and Ischia. On the final day of Sunday 28 Junethe sessions will move to the Municipal Library with a historical focus curated by Mario Mattia, Technologist Director of the INGV Etna Observatory, focused on the social role and environmental impact of volcanic phenomena in past centuries.

For the entire duration of the event, the Foundation’s premises will host a selection of images taken from the exhibition “Gaetano Ponte (1876-1955) Sicilian scientist and photographer”. The exhibition work, born from the collaboration between INGV and the Ministry of Civil Protection and Maritime Policies, enjoys the patronage of the Municipality of Palagonia and the Tuscan Photographic Archive of Prato; the itinerant route, inaugurated in December 2025, will end in Catania on July 31st.