“THOSE BOMBASTIC ITALIAN VOLCANOES” TOPIC OF JANUARY 31, 2016 PROGRAM
We have a wonderful program to start off the New Year, so please mark January 31 on your calendar. “Those Bombastic Italian Volcanoes” is the intriguing subject and our speaker will be Barry Centini, a Ph.D. geologist who will tell us about how the geography of Italy impacted its history. Dr. Centini taught geology at Emory University, worked with the U.S. Army and was a senior research engineer for SRI International. As you can tell by the title of his talk, he likes to add a little humor to a serious subject. According to AMHS former President Dick DiBuono, who has heard him speak, he has a wonderful way of imparting interesting information.
We will find out from Dr. Centini why Italy is the birthplace of volcanology and the reasons why Mount. Etna has the world’s largest period of documented eruptions. And we will learn how volcanic activity played a major role in Greek and Roman history. Of course besides Mount Etna, there are other famous volcanoes in Italy, such as Stromboli and Mount Vesuvius. Maybe we will also hear about how the island of Lipari (the largest of the Aeolian Islands north of Sicily) was created many thousands of years ago by a succession of four volcanic events. And, we may have a chance to learn more about the disastrous earthquake in L’Aquila in April 2009. The topic is very relevant as we can see by the news reports in early December of a dramatic eruption of Mount Etna, the highest and most active volcano in Europe.
This eruption, ranking among the most violent by Etna in decades, saw “fountains” reach heights of over 1 kilometer although some jets were as high as 3 kilometers above the summit of the volcano. Ash fell near Messina and even as far as Reggio Calabria on the mainland. And as you may know, it’s not a rare occurrence for the Catania airport - Italy’s third-busiest airport - to be shut down due to an eruption by Mt. Etna. Before the program, we will install the 5 officers and 3 members of the Board who were elected at the November 15, 2015 meeting.
Lunch will be prepared by AMHS board member Rocco Caniglia. Rocco has planned a wonderful menu for us, including pasta e fagioli, chicken, roast potatoes, salad, bread and desserts. And of course, wine. So please plan to come and tell your family members and friends, and remember to make your paid reservations early by January 27, 2015. You can pay online by visiting the AMHS website,
www.abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org, on the home page under Upcoming Events (you can pay by Mastercard and Visa). We strongly encourage you to take advantage of the safe and secure online option for your reservations, which will generate a confirmation email.
We will no longer accept payment at the door! If you wish to pay by check, you do so by filling in the reservation form and mailing your payment to the AMHS Treasurer (be sure to look at the flyer for the meeting elsewhere in this issue of the Notiziario).