Living with Volcanoes

From offerings thrown into the smoking crater of an Indonesian volcano to Catholic processions with thousands of worshipers at the foot of Mount Etna, by way of ritual dances in honor of the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes; all around the earth, crowds pray and worship sacred volcanoes. This episode invites you on a spiritual journey through the volcanic world, populated by divinities and spirits.

Japanese fertile lands with unparalleled yields, water reservoirs irrigating the whole of Sicily, deposits of precious materials such as the sulfur of an Indonesian volcano or clean and sustainable sources of energy in New Zealand: all attest of the immeasurable wealth hidden beneath the brimstone giants. The treasures of volcanoes are only awarded to the bravest and most steadfast of peoples.

From lava flows in Italy and fiery ash avalanches in Japan to volcanic mud flows in Iceland by way of tsunamis in Hawaii and soil poisoning in Indonesia... everywhere on the planet, life in the shade of volcanoes is like an everlasting struggle. Yet, some people decide to defy the wrath of Nature's colossi. They display amazing ingenuity, solidarity and courage to thwart the titans' assaults.

They are the guardian angels of densely populated areas such as Naples, they are isolated volcano explorers such as in the Rift Valley in Tanzania, they are perched at more than 6000m on the Andean highlands or immersed in the mysterious Auvergne subsoil: volcanologists from all over the world have made volcanoes their open-air laboratories.