Mount Busca is also known as the world's smallest volcano and is located in Italy in the Romagna hills, between the Tramazzo and Montone valleys. As the name suggests, the volcano is located on Mount Busca, which reaches 740 metres above sea level and is about 15 minutes from Tredozio or Portico di Romagna and about an hour from Cesena or Forli.
You can easily find the location on Google maps. You can park your car in front of the abandoned farmhouse behind which the natural phenomenon is located. The journey takes about two minutes on foot. To the right of the farmhouse, a narrow path winds through trees and bushes to a large open field where the outline of a hill is clearly visible. Right in the middle of the field is Mount Busca volcano.
What we call the Mount Busca volcano is in fact a different type of phenomenon that cannot be classified as a volcano. It is actually a perpetual source of methane gas that escapes from the ground and is deliberately ignited to prevent the gas from escaping. Although there is a belief that the "volcano" ignites itself, listening to the stories of the locals confirmed to me that it is they themselves who ignite it to keep it burning.
It is therefore not a real volcano, but a spontaneous eruption of methane gas from the ground, which sometimes ignites spontaneously, while other times it is the hand of the locals. Specifically, it takes the form of a small pile of rocks from which flames are born and grow, which are more or less high depending on the day and the strength of the wind.
History
In 1939, a pipeline was built to bring gas to the building where the Società Idrocarburi Metano could use this methane source. This work was very well received and Mussolini was present at its inauguration. A few years later, the reservoir ceased to be used. In the decades that followed, several attempts were made to exploit this natural phenomenon. However, its small size did not make it economically feasible to carry out any project, so today it is freely accessible.
address:S.P. 22 per Tredozio al km 7+700, 47019 Villaggio Monte Busca, Tredozio FC
