
Europe's largest and most active volcano is spewing columns of smoke and sending lava cascading down its mountainside during its latest eruption.

Mount Etna, which looms above the city of Catania in Sicily, has been steadily erupting over the last month, with hoards of people heading to the volcano to capture stunning photographs and video of molten rock lighting up its snowy slopes.

Etna, or 'Mongibello', erupts frequently but rarely poses a threat to humans. According to the website Volcano Discovery, its historical volcanism has been documented for around 2000 years, dating back to 1500BC.

At almost 11,000 ft, Etna is Italy's highest point south of the Alps and Europe's highest active volcano, being about two and a half times the height of Mount Vesuvius, near Naples.

It is also the second most productive volcano on the planet, after Kilauea on Hawaii. Each year, the 700,000-year old and 24-mile wide volcano produces enough lava to fill a 108-story skyscrapers, spewing tonnes of molten rock across the island of Sicily.

A huge black smoke cloud rises from the active volcano Mount Etna near the city of Catania in Sicily, Italy on December 24

Smoke rises over the city of Catania during an eruption of the Mount Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world on December 24, 2018

Mount Etna or Mongibello has over the last few weeks been shooting clouds of ash and column into the air during on of its frequent eruptions

Mt Etna - Europe's largest and most active volcano - is emitting a huge cloud of smoke into the sky above Sicily

The eruption has resulted in the partial closure of airspace surrounding the volcano.

Italy's national institute for geophysics and vulcanology (INGV) counted more than 130 seismic shocks in the zone, with the strongest reaching a magnitude of 4.0.

Vulcanologist Boris Behnke said: 'The eruption occurred on the side of Etna. It's the first lateral eruption in more than 10 years, but it doesn't seem to be dangerous.'

Due to bad visibility because of the ash authorities restricted local airspace, allowing only four landings per hour Monday afternoon at the eastern Sicilian airport of Catania.

Visibility was still too poor to determine whether the eruption was accompanied by lava, Behncke said.

At any rate, both the seismic activity and ash production appeared to be diminishing in the afternoon, he said.

Mount Etna, 3,300 metres high, is the biggest active volcano in Europe, with frequent eruptions recorded in the past 2,700 years.

Its most recent eruptions occurred in the spring of 2017 and its last major eruption in the 2008/2009 winter.

At the end of March a study published in the Bulletin of Volcanology said that Etna is slowly sliding towards the Mediterranean - at a constant pace of 14 millimetres per year.

Locals uploaded photographs of the smoke column coming out of the Etna volcano in Catania, Italy to social media on Monday, December 24, 2018

The Mount Etna observatory says lava and ash are spewing from a new fracture on the active Sicilian volcano amid an unusually high level of seismic activity

Mount Etna is in an near constant state of activity but its relatively frequent eruptions very rarely affect civilians

According to the website Volcano Discovery, Etna's historical volcanism has been documented for around 2000 years, dating back to 1500BC

A man takes a photo of a rising plume of smoke coming from Etna volcano in Catania, December 24 2018. An eruptive fracture opened this morning on Mount Etna at the base of the southeast crater, where explosive activity continues

Residents in the nearby Sicilian city of Catania have been posting photographs of the impressive phenomenon on social media