When I was in the USN, going through the Strait of Messina one night, it was overcast, and I could see the red glow of Mt. Etna reflecting red from the clouds as we transited...it was very cool...and weird.
I think we also had a guy jump overboard that night. Rumor had it he was trying to desert by swimming ashore. Never found him.
Wow! Strange story.
I walked up Etna with my husband and a friend. The friend didn’t believe that all that sooty stuff on the snow was...ashes and hardened lava. Some people just don’t understand danger.