Piano dell'Acqua

History

The name means water-plain, and until the late 1970s, beside the stream that crosses the village, there was an ancient washbasin in local limestone. During the 1991–1993 eruption of Mount Etna, the town was seriously threatened by advancing lava flows. In April 1992, Italian civil protection authorities, assisted by the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy, carried out Operation Hot Rock, a joint mission that used explosives and concrete blocks to divert the lava away from Zafferana. The intervention succeeded in saving the town from destruction. , the advancing lava front threatened nearby communities. On 14 April 1992, the flow reached the outskirts of Zafferana Etnea and engulfed a solitary house at Piano dell'Acqua, whose owner had symbolically placed wine and bread outside as an offering to the volcano. The event formed part of the crisis that led Italian authorities, supported by U.S. military forces, to undertake Operation Hot Rock, a joint effort to divert the lava and save Zafferana from destruction.

Geography

The village lies north of its province, close to the borders with the Province of Catania. It is 10 km north of Chiaramonte Gulfi and 17 km south of Licodia Eubea.

Most-observed species

• Common Buzzard

  Buteo buteo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  63
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  52
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  51
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  44
• European Goldfinch

  Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  41
• Sardinian Warbler

  Curruca melanocephala (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  41
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  38
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  35

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2026-03-04
  4 km ESE of Catania, Italy
• M 4.2 — 2023-04-21
  21 km ESE of Acitrezza, Italy
• M 4.2 — 2022-12-08
  Sicily, Italy
• M 4.3 — 2021-12-23
  9 km NNE of Carlentini, Italy
• M 2.9 — 2021-06-28
  0 km NNW of Palagonia, Italy
• M 4.5 — 2020-12-22
  7 km NNW of Scoglitti, Italy