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Maurizio Ripepe, a geophysicist at the University of Florence in Italy, holds a piece of pumice from Stromboli.
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A beacon for measuring tsunami waves installed off the shore of the Sciara del Fuoco (“Stream of Fire”), a slope that funnels superheated debris into the sea.
Everyone has a unique relationship with this paradoxical landscape. Scientists approach Stromboli as detectives. They hope to understand how it works by investigating its various viscera, a task aided by both its hyperactivity and its easy accessibility. “There are not so many volcanoes that you can go up to the summit, you work all day long, then you are only one hour from beer, pizza, good food,” said Dr. Ripepe.