Mt. Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano came to life on Wednesday night, January 12, 2011. The eruption lasted about 2 hours.

According to the Associated Press, the volcano spewed a cloud of ash into the air and sent streams of lava flowing down its slopes. No one was injured in the eruption and no damage has been reported.

Mt. Etna has been affecting life in Sicily for hundreds of years. Though damage from recent eruptions has been minor and the loss of life infrequent in modern times that has not always been the case. In 1185, Mt. Etna killed 15,000 people during an eruption. A 1669 eruption destroyed villages and turned the fields above Nicolosi into a lake of hot and smoldering lava that took eight years to cool. More than 20,000 people were killed. Mt. Etna has been thought to be active for around 500,000 years.

Mt. Etna has seen increased activity in recent months. According to the Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, a slight increase in Etna's volcanic tremors had been recorded on Tuesday, reaching its peak at 7am local time on Wednesday morning.< /p>

Travel Guides make a wonderful gift for enyone who will soon be traveling to Italy or even for those who are carefully saving up for their dream vacation.

Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, Eyewitness, National Geographic, AAA , Rough Guide , Frommers, Fodors, the list of travel guides goes on and on. It is safe to say that there are travel guides for every taste and style of travel.What better gift for a friend or relative who is taking a trip this year than a selection of Travel Guide books?

Travel guides offer suggestions of where to stay, where and what to eat, what to do and how to get where you need to be. Most of books provide a wide selection based on price and location.

Guidebooks such as Lonely Planet offer up suggestions with an offbeat sense of humor. Eyewitness comes in two variations – one tells you everything you need to know about the place you are visiting the other fits snuggly in your pocket and only tells you about the top sites. Rick Steves tells you about out-of-the way places.

Lidia Bastianich chef, cookbook author and restaurateur can now add children’s book author to the list. Chef Lidia has written an endearing story of how the Christmases of her childhood were celebrated. It is an acknowledgement of a simpler time when coming together as a family was more important than running from store to store in search of the perfect gift.

This is a true tale of a sometimes hard life in a difficult time but one that is sure to entertain the children for whom this book was written. The pictures are large and the stories are told in simple and understandable language. As you would expect, Nona Tell Me a Story also includes simple recipe’s though not simple enough for children to make without help.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2–Nonni Lidia tells her five grandkids about what Christmas was like in Italy when she was a child, with a juniper bush hung with real fruit, cinnamon sticks, and cookies. She so successfully evokes the fun and the tantalizing smells that the children decide to decorate their tree the same way. Bastianich, a television chef and cookbook author, clearly bases this story on her own family and experiences, and she includes plenty of delicious, if somewhat challenging, cookie recipes. The illustrations show round-faced, beaming family members cooking, eating, and celebrating together. A cheerful depiction of the making and sharing of holiday traditions.