Vincenzo Experienced on Etna volcano since 1997
•Belonging to the second generation of Etna guides
•Official guide on Italian volcanoes
Vincenzo Greco attended the Faculty of Geology at the University of Catania and spent his childhood in close contact with the volcano. The grandson of a mountain guide after whom he was named, his parents took him to Piano Provenzana a few months after his birth. Little Vincenzo spent his days playing in the woods and running among the bare tongues of lava. The curiosity born of constant frequentation of the natural environment allowed him to establish a special bond with the mountains, for him a true teacher of life. At the age of 4, he learnt what downhill skiing was; at 5, he visited the summit craters for the first time. At 8, he witnessed the great eruption of 2002 that destroyed Piano Provenzana. Fascinated and impressed by such power, he began to dedicate himself to studying the volcano and eruptive phenomena, while he continued his winter and summer ascents with Mt. Etna’s guides.
His passion continues to grow and – firm on the values passed on to him – he decides to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, who died when he was only 6 years old. At 18, he was entrusted with the task of cataloguing the scientific material of Salvatore Cucuzza, a well-known volcanologist at the University of Catania. Thus began his collaboration with INGV researchers. Thanks to his continuous research, he realised a project with the help of Dr. Stefano Branca which he presented at the Etna Park site, entitled: “The documentary and photographic archive of Salvatore Cucuzza”. Also a sports enthusiast, Vincenzo falls in love with ski mountaineering, an ideal activity to practice on the volcano. He also devotes his time to rock climbing, running and trail running competitions. In 2016, he had the opportunity to take part in the course to become a guide and in February 2017 he managed to crown his dream, obtaining the title of Volcanological Guide, the youngest person to achieve this goal in the whole of Italy.