Visit the world’s smallest volcano – Mount Busca in Tredozio

In the municipality of Tredozio,in the province of Forlì-Cesena, there is a curious burning fountain of methane, i.e. a release from the ground of gaseous hydrocarbons that spontaneously combust in contact with air.

To reach it, you must drive along the SP22 from Portico di Romagna, in the province of Forlì-Cesena, to the summit of Monte Busca. Here, in the Tuscan-Romagna Apennines at 740 metres altitude, lies a mountain characterised by the presence of a flaming fountain of methane, which has earned it the misnomer of volcano.

Over the course of time, the local population has used the flames of Mount Busca in various ways: for making tools, to signal their presence or even just for cooking.

This was until 1939, when ‘the volcano’ became part of the Methane Hydrocarbons Company and a pipeline was built to bring the gas further downstream. The project, however, was abandoned a few years after its inauguration due to the low gas flow rate and too high running costs.

Since then, the burning fountain at Monte Busca has once again become freely visitable and is often a destination for geologists and keen hikers.