Etna lava flow slowing down

MOUNT ETNA, Sicily -- The two main lava flows of Mount Etna appear to be slowing down as emergency workers battle to save tourist facilities.

Despite the slowing of the lava, workers on Mount Etna remained on high alert on Monday because of the volcano's unpredictability, Sicily's Civil Protection Agency said.

Emergency workers worked through the night to reinforce the dams put up to protect the tourist base, Rifugio Sapienza. Officials said the embankments were so far diverting the flow of lava and keeping it under control.

VIDEO Sicily's Mount Etna continues to erupt, and those living nearby are growing anxious, as CNN's Matthew Chance explains (July 28) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   AUDIO CNN's Matthew Chance: Emergency teams racing against time 1010K / 93 sec. AIFF or WAV sound   MORE STORIES Living in the shadow of a volcano     RESOURCES Anatomy of a volcano (Flash animation)   On the Scene: Mount Etna provides 'awesome, dramatic display'

The other river of lava, which in the past days threatened the town of Nicolosi, appeared to have stopped advancing, about four kilometres (2.5 miles) from the town.

People living on the slopes of Mount Etna, Europe's biggest and most active volcano, in Nicolosi sought solace in their faith on Sunday as lava flows continued to edge close to centres of population.

Worshippers crowded into the church of Santa Maria della Grazia for Mass and laid flowers at the shrine of the St. Anthony's their town's patron saint.

Parishoners believe St. Anthony protects them from the volcano and his shrine -- a statue of the saint perched on a lava rock -- lies at the point where the lava stopped during an 1856 eruption.

"Local people still believe in miracles," teacher Gianbattista Martinazoli told The Associated Press as he left Mass.

"If human technology can't keep the lava back, the Eternal Father is our only salvation."

Nicolosi's priest, the Rev. Bartolomeo Ruggieri, said the danger of living on the slopes of a live volcano, Europe's largest, makes his parishioners strong.

"Being in danger's path makes them wiser," he said.

"It makes them reflect on the human condition, about mortality, about the fact they can exist -- and then not exist."

Although none of the towns on Etna's slopes have been damaged, there have been losses in agriculture and tourism and the government has earmarked about 18 billion lire ($8 million) to help the area recover.

Nello Musumeci, a government commissioner, said: "We are fighting an enemy which is much stronger than man."

Sonia Calvari, volcanologist with the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Catania, Sicily, told CNN: "We know now that the volcano is still inflating. We see lava flow in many parts of the eruptive fissure.

"It's, of course, a very important eruption. The most important I've seen in 15 years."

Experts say the eruption could go on for weeks.

The last major eruption of Mount Etna, which towers 10,860 feet (3,310 metres) above Sicily, was in 1992. In a spectacular operation, Italian and U.S. military used controlled explosions to divert the flow.