The 1865 Mount Etna eruption destroys the Chichia home

The 1865 Mount Etna eruption destroys the Chichia home is recounted as the catastrophe that devastated the Ciccia family and left Concettina Tempesta as its sole survivor. In Domenico Tempesta’s family history, the ruined land, deaths, and lasting mark on Concettina’s hand turn a natural disaster into an inherited story of loss and survival.

The destruction of the family’s livelihood

Alfio and Maricchia Ciccia were prosperous landowners whose hazelnut and almond groves provided their livelihood. In 1865, lava from Mount Etna’s western rim destroyed the trees. Four days later, the earth cracked open, killing Alfio and three of his sons. The catastrophe stripped the family of both its land and much of its next generation. Maricchia, overwhelmed by grief, took her own life by poisoning herself soon afterward. With her death, Concettina Tempesta, the youngest child, remained the only surviving member of the Ciccia family.

Concettina’s escape

When the lava advanced, Concettina was alone in a field playing with rag dolls. She climbed a nearby cedar tree to escape, but dropped one doll on the way. She climbed down to retrieve it and burned her right hand; the doll was lost in the lava. Concettina managed to climb the tree again and remained there until it was safe to descend.

The story passed down

Concettina carried a shiny scar on her right hand for the rest of her life. As a boy, Domenico Tempesta repeatedly heard the account of her escape and the lost doll, and watched the scar as she told it. The narrative thus preserves the eruption not only through the family’s deaths and material losses, but through a bodily mark and a story remembered across generations.