It is the latest in a record-breaking series of more than 40 lava fountaining episodes since May from Europe’s tallest active volcano.
The ash fell onto several villages on the slopes of the volcano and the nearby city of Catania.
There was no impact on the operations of the Catania international airport.
Mount Etna has been particularly active this year, with eruptions reported almost every month.
Catania’s Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said it had found the “beating heart” of the volcano which is fuelling the activity, and that “the energy inside the volcano is increasing”.
Etna is Italy’s largest active volcano, along with Stromboli, on the Sicilian island of the same name, and Mount Vesuvius near Naples, which last erupted in 1944.
