INGV reported after an effusive eruption during August-November 2017, activity at Stromboli remained at modest levels. In recent months however activity was characterized by frequent explosions from different vents on the crater terrace, punctuated by four major explosions (on 26 July, 23 October, 1 November, and 1 December 2017). Activity remained high after the last explosion, prompting authorities to restrict access to the summit areas. In the late morning on 15 December one of the vents began spattering, and by 1400 lava flows from two vents had begun to fill the crater depression. At 1430 the lava spilled onto the N flank of the Sciara del Fuoco. Spattering rapidly stopped later in the afternoon and the lava flows stopped advancing.

Geological Summary. Spectacular incandescent nighttime explosions at Stromboli have long attracted visitors to the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean" in the NE Aeolian Islands. This volcano has lent its name to the frequent mild explosive activity that has characterized its eruptions throughout much of historical time. The small island is the emergent summit of a volcano that grew in two main eruptive cycles, the last of which formed the western portion of the island. The Neostromboli eruptive period took place between about 13,000 and 5,000 years ago. The active summit vents are located at the head of the Sciara del Fuoco, a prominent scarp that formed about 5,000 years ago due to a series of slope failures which extends to below sea level. The modern volcano has been constructed within this scarp, which funnels pyroclastic ejecta and lava flows to the NW. Essentially continuous mild Strombolian explosions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded for more than a millennium.

Source: Sezione di Catania - Osservatorio Etneo (INGV)