Voragine crater on Mount Etna wakes up after four years. Watch

Mount Etna, Europe's tallest and most active volcano, came alive once again on Wednesday (July 3), as it spewed lava into the sky. Located in Sicily, it threw out lava high into the sky from its Voragine crater. The crater had been asleep for four years and woke up creating a stunning scene with explosions and incandescent shreds being thrown off it.

Mount Etna is 3,330-metre high and presents a visual treat with its unusual Strombolian activity. As the Voragine crater threw out lava, the magma flowed inside the new crater, 'Bocca Nuova' or 'New Mouth'. Volcanic activity in the Bocca Nuova has been intensifying over the past few years. It is one of Etna's oldest vents and tends to collapse under its own weight when it fills up with lava and debris.

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Mount Etna details

Etna is the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy. Next on the list is Mount Vesuvius, and the magnitude of Etna can be gauged by the fact that it is about two and a half times the height of Vesuvius. It is also believed to have the longest documented history of eruptions, with the first records being from as early as 425 B.C.

Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations, which means it is one of 16 volcanoes identified as those that need more study owing to their history of massive and destructive eruptions and proximity to densely populated areas.