In this paper we report seismological evidence regarding the emplacement of the dike that fed the July 18 - August
9, 2001 lateral eruption at Mt. Etna volcano. The shallow intrusion and the opening of the eruptive fracture
system, which mostly occurred during July 12, and July 18, were accompanied by one of the most intense seismic
swarms of the last 20 years. A total of 2694 earthquakes (1 £ Md £ 3.9) were recorded from the beginning of the
swarm (July 12) to the end of the eruption (August 9). Seismicity shows the upward migration of the dike from
the basement to the relatively thin volcanic pile. A clear hypocentral migration was observed, well constraining
the upwards propagation of a near-vertical dike, oriented roughly N-S, and located a few kilometers south of the
summit region. Earthquake distribution and orientation of the P-axes from focal mechanisms indicate that the
swarm was caused by the local stress source related to the dike intrusion
