Etna froths and then goes to sleep — great noise and fury eventually subside into calm. The volcano's eruptions, however spectacular, are temporary; the mountain always settles. Applied to people: the great rage, the dramatic scene, the impressive outburst — all pass, and the person returns to their ordinary state.
Catanesi live in the shadow of the world's most active volcano, and their relationship with its eruptions is intimate enough that they can describe Etna's moods with a shrug. An eruption is dramatic, yes — the orange glow at night, the falling ash that dusts the city white, the distant roaring — but it is also temporary, predictable in its unpredictability, and always eventually over. The volcano always 'si metti a dormiri' — goes back to sleep. This phlegmatic attitude was applied to human drama: the neighbour who screamed at her husband every Saturday eventually went quiet; the politician who raged about reform eventually settled back into the normal rhythms of compromise; the child's tantrum lasted fifteen minutes and then was done. All fury, even volcanic fury, is temporary.
A distinctly Catanese proverb using the volcanic personality of Etna as metaphor for temporary fury followed by calm. 'Schiuma' = schiuma/esplosione (froth/eruption), 'si metti a dormiri' = si mette a dormire (goes to sleep). Reflects the Catanese normalised relationship with their active volcano.
After a colleague's dramatic outburst in a meeting
Ha urlato, ha sbattuto le carte, se n'è andato sbattendo la porta. L'Etna fa la schiuma e poi si metti a dormiri — domani sarà come niente.
He shouted, slammed the papers, left slamming the door. Etna froths and then goes to sleep — tomorrow it will be as if nothing happened.
Calming a worried parent about a teenager's anger phase
— È impossibile, urla tutto il giorno. — L'Etna fa la schiuma e poi si metti a dormiri. Passerà, come è passata per tutti gli altri.
— He is impossible, he shouts all day. — Etna froths and then goes to sleep. It will pass, as it has for everyone else.
Watching an actual eruption from Catania with calm
Guarda che spettacolo. — Non hai paura? — L'Etna fa la schiuma e poi si metti a dormiri. È la nostra montagna.
What a sight. — Are you not scared? — Etna froths and then goes to sleep. It is our mountain.
About a political storm that eventually died down
Per tre settimane tutti urlavano allo scandalo. Poi silenzio. L'Etna fa la schiuma e poi si metti a dormiri — in politica è sempre così.
For three weeks everyone was shouting about the scandal. Then silence. Etna froths and then goes to sleep — in politics it is always like this.