- News>
- Environment
Volcanic ash turned to gold
Catania, Italy, Dec 14: A geologist has found a clever way of turning into gold the thick black volcanic ash that for weeks has been spewing out of Mount Etna: sell it bottles.
Catania, Italy, Dec 14: A geologist has found a clever way of turning into gold the thick black volcanic ash that for weeks has been spewing out of Mount Etna: sell it bottles.
According to the Italian news agency Ansa, geologist Mario Costa took a sample of the ash to an artisans` trade fair in Milan and sold it in bottles at the symbolic price of one Euro (dollar) each.
But what initially was conceived as a joke immediately turned into a marketing success. Labelled ``Etna in a Bottle``, the around 100 bottles were sold out within an hour.
``What took place in Milan is a small but important lesson in territorial marketing. Our volcano is so popular that all you have to do is use its name on a product and it becomes a best-seller,`` Fabio Mancuso, the mayor of a small town that lies on Etna`s slopes and who attended Milan`s trade fair, was quoted as saying.
Etna`s latest eruption has posed serious problems to the residents of Mount Etna, which have seen their fields and towns blanketed by the thick volcanic ash almost uninterruptedly since October 26. The massive black cloud has stretched as far as Libya.
On top of causing serious economic damages, the ash also caused breathing problems to the local population and has forced the closure of the local airport, Catania`s Fontanarossa.
Bureau Report
According to the Italian news agency Ansa, geologist Mario Costa took a sample of the ash to an artisans` trade fair in Milan and sold it in bottles at the symbolic price of one Euro (dollar) each.
But what initially was conceived as a joke immediately turned into a marketing success. Labelled ``Etna in a Bottle``, the around 100 bottles were sold out within an hour.
``What took place in Milan is a small but important lesson in territorial marketing. Our volcano is so popular that all you have to do is use its name on a product and it becomes a best-seller,`` Fabio Mancuso, the mayor of a small town that lies on Etna`s slopes and who attended Milan`s trade fair, was quoted as saying.
Etna`s latest eruption has posed serious problems to the residents of Mount Etna, which have seen their fields and towns blanketed by the thick volcanic ash almost uninterruptedly since October 26. The massive black cloud has stretched as far as Libya.
On top of causing serious economic damages, the ash also caused breathing problems to the local population and has forced the closure of the local airport, Catania`s Fontanarossa.
Bureau Report