ITALY: TOURISTS FLOCK TO SLOPES OF MOUNT ETNA IN HOPE OF SEEING VOLCANO'S DRAMATIC DISPLAY
Record ID:
648505
ITALY: TOURISTS FLOCK TO SLOPES OF MOUNT ETNA IN HOPE OF SEEING VOLCANO'S DRAMATIC DISPLAY
- Title: ITALY: TOURISTS FLOCK TO SLOPES OF MOUNT ETNA IN HOPE OF SEEING VOLCANO'S DRAMATIC DISPLAY
- Date: 27th July 2001
- Summary: (U5)ON THE SLOPES OF MOUNT ETNA (JULY 27, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. MV/SV: ROAD BLOCK STOPPING TRAFFIC MOVING UP HILL TO MOUNT ETNA /TOURISTS (3 SHOTS) 0.22 2. MV: TOURISTS LOOKING AT FOGGY VIEW OF MOUNT ETNA 0.26 3. SV/PAN: TOURISTS LOOKING AT FOGGY VIEW OF MOUNT ETNA (2 SHOTS) 0.39 4. SLV: TOURISTS LOOKING THROUGH BINOCULARS 0.45 5. SV: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MALTESE TOURIST MANUEL MALLIA SAYING: "I'm disappointed, I haven't seen anything, just lava." 0.56 6. SV/MV/SCU: TOURISTS WALKING OVER LAVA AND TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS (3 SHOTS) 1.11 7. SV: (SOUNDBITE) (English) SWEDISH TOURIST LENA STROM SAYING: "I would be scared if I lived here, it's very scary - are they still living in this village? Poor them." 1.20 8. MV: TOURISTS WALKING BACK TO BUS; PAN TO ASHTRAY SELLER ALFIO PARISI SELLING GOODS TO TOURISTS (4 SHOTS) 1.40 9. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) ALFIO PARISI, SELLER, SAYING: "Everything is negative for us economically, because it (Etna) is just destroying everything up there and nobody knows when we will be able to go back." 1.53 10. PAN/CU/MV: SAPIENZA RESORT, SOUVENIR SHOPS NEXT TO STEAMING LAVA (3 SHOTS) 2.11 11. CU: MADONNA ON SOUVENIR SHOP 2.14 12. VARIOUS: RESTAURANT OWNER EVACUATING GOODS FROM RESTAURANT (3 SHOTS) 2.31 13. MV: BULLDOZER ARRIVING 2.35 14. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) MARCO DE MEO, RESTAURANT OWNER, SAYING: "Etna, as we all say, is like our mother. We work, thanks to her. It's her land and you just can't hate it, even if every now and then she hurts us." 2.49 15. LV: BURNING LAVA NEXT TO RESORT 2.54 16. CU/SV: BULLDOZER OPERATORS NEARBY (2 SHOTS) 3.05 17. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) BULLDOZER DRIVER MARIO VULVIRENTI, SAYING: "We hope to stop this flow, or divert it, but it looks as though there is nothing we can do. The lava stops and slows down, and then more comes from above and it can't be controlled." 3.21 18. VARIOUS: BULLDOZERS WORKING AROUND SAPIENZA RESORT AND COMPLEX (3 SHOTS) 3.35 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 11th August 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: ON THE SLOPES OF MOUNT ETNA, SICILY, ITALY
- Country: Italy
- Reuters ID: LVA350M90UYBCH577Y3VI0ODI7BB
- Story Text: The pictures of Europe's most active volcano have been
shown all around the world and now, hundreds of tourists are
arriving every day to visit the volcano with the hope of
seeing in real life.
But frustrated tourists are being kept kilometres away
from the volcano and the owners of souvenir shops and tourist
attractions on the slopes of Mount Etna have the double
concern of their properties being overrun by the lava and the
disappearance of their trade.
As a huge streams of lava slowly move down towards the
village of Nicolosi and the night skies light up with
fantastic displays of exploding red hot lava, many tourists
are flocking to the island to see the nature show for
themselves.
Tourist coaches pull up at a road block some four
kilometres down the slope and unload their disgruntled
passengers, many of whom are disappointed they can get no
closer and must be content with a foggy view of the volcano.
"I'm disappointed, I haven't seen anything, just lava,"
said Maltese tourist Manuel Mallia.
A few tourists are happy to be further away, content to
take group photographs in the few minutes they are allowed to
stay.
"I would be scared if I lived here, it's very scary - are
they still living in this village? Swedish tourist Lena Strom
said referring to the village of Nicolosi which lies one
kilometre further down the hill. "Poor them," she added.
Alfio Parisi normally sells his array of ashtrays, made
from Etna's lava, further up the slope and now has to try and
do business down at the road block.
"Everything is negative for us economically, because it
(Etna) is just destroying everything up there and nobody knows
when we will be able to go back," Parisi said.
Souvenir shop and restaurant owners further up the volcano
are frantically evacuating everything they can from their
properties after spending a terrifying evening watching a
massive mound of burning hot lava come within metres of their
properties.
A battalion of bulldozers piled up earth and hardened lava
from earlier eruptions to throw up barricades around the
refuge which also holds in its complex restaurants and
souvenir shops. The lava has, so far, reached the side of the
complex and its car park, for the first time since 1983.
One shopowner has chosen his own method of warding off the
red hot demon by planting a statue of the Virgin Mary outside
his wooden souvenir stall.
"Etna, as we all say, is like our mother. We work, thanks
to her. It's her land," said restaurant owner Marco De Meo as
he evacuated everything he could from his property.
Work is continuing on the slopes of Etna to try and stem
the flow of the lava, but no one seems to really know what
will happen.
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