Giant orange fountains of lava and plumes of dense ash could be seen in Catania, a city on the Italian island of Sicily.
Volcanic activity from Etna’s south-east crater was first recorded at 9:20 pm on Sunday and within half an hour, the intensity of the blast had increased from medium to high.
The crater produced lava fountains of up to 100 metres high and a dense ash plume rose to an estimated five kilometres high.
Sandfalls on villages and towns south of the Sicilian volcano were also reported.
Loud roars were heard in Calabria, on the mainland.
The eruption continued until 3:00 am the following morning.
Video: National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV)
Although volcanic ash clouds can cause flight disruptions, the nearby Catania airport was operating normally on Monday.
Authorities reported no danger to the towns that dot the mountain’s slopes.
More than 500,000 people live around the base of Mount Etna, which has history of violent eruptions and is one of the most active volcanoes on earth.
Even the ancient Romans wrote about it and lived in its shadow, as it has been active for thousands of years.
