Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina and Catania.It lies above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently 3,329 m (10,922 ft) high, though this varies with summit eruptions.
It is the highest peak in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 (459 sq mi) with a basal circumference of 140 km.This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius.
Only Mount Teide in Tenerife (owned by Spain) surpasses it in the whole of the European–North-African region. Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity.
Eruptions of Etna follow a variety of patterns. Most occur at the summit, where there are currently (as of 2008) five distinct craters — the Northeast Crater, the Voragine, the Bocca Nuova, and the Southeast Crater Complex.