Etna eruption of 1766, Alessandro d’Anna

Alessandro d’Anna (1746–1810) was an Italian painter, the son of the great Sicilian painter Vito d’Anna. He is known for his landscape paintings vedute and for his gouaches depicting traditional Neapolitan costumes.
Mount Etna is the most active volcano in Europe. Situated in Sicily near Catania, its lava flows are nevertheless less catastrophic than those of the Phlegraean Fields in the Naples region. In the 18th century, Etna experienced nearly a dozen major eruptions. The most remarkable was that of 1766, during which 115 million cubic metres of lava were ejected. Alessandro d’Anna’s painting depicts the Etna eruption of 1766 and its lava jets contrasting with the Sicilian night sky.