MALTA AND SICILY. 
243 
Before reaching Nicolosi we turned off to 
the right to Monte Rosso, across a plain 
of black sand or ashes, which were thrown 
out during the eruption of 1669, covering a 
space of fifteen square miles, and burying 
the fields and vineyards many feet deep. 
These ashes, and the torrent of lava which 
destroyed Catania, were discharged from the 
side of the mountain, and the immense heap 
of cinders around this new crater is now 
called Monte Rosso, or the Red Mountain. 
We found its sides so steep, and the cinders 
so fine and yielding, that we all dismounted 
and clambered up to the summit on foot, 
though our guide assured us that our mules 
woidd carry us up quite easily and safely. 
Though the atmosphere was still rather misty, 
the snow had ceased, and we had a beautiful 
view of the coast of Sicily as far as Cape 
Passaro, and of the mountains of Calabria in 
