Italy's Mt Etna erupted for the 13th time in 2013 on Saturday, creating another spectacular sky show seen for mile by surrounding towns.

While the violent eruption did not pose a risk to residents, the frequency of volcanic activities prompted Italian town mayors to call on the government to declare a state of emergency in the affected areas.

The eruption, which resulted in shooting of lava, ash and smoke more than 3,000 feet into the air, is the most intense so far and caused brief closure of the airport in Catania and triggered several minor earthquakes measuring up to 2.55 on the Richter scale.

It also blanketed Linguaglossa, Taormina and Messine with ashfall.

The series of eruptions led Sicilian authorities to build dams or dig ditched to divert lava away from residential areas.

Mount Etna is Europe's most active volcano and a 2008 eruption went on for 417 days and triggered over 200 tremors.

Here are more photos of the 13th eruption, including images taken by the Earth Observatory.