That week, Assange was scheduled to fly to Berkeley, and then to Italy, but back in Iceland the volcano was erupting again, and his flight to Europe was likely to change.

NEWYORKER: No Secrets

Rome was set to host the 1908 Olympics when Mount Vesuvius erupted two years prior, forcing the city to forgo the Games due to the cost of rebuilding (although some historians speculate that Italy was struggling to fund the event even before the volcano erupted).

BBC: The ghosts of London's Olympic past

CANTANIA, Italy (CNN) -- There is no way to stop Europe's highest volcano from erupting, but technology is increasingly helping scientists to prevent natural disasters becoming human tragedies.

CNN: Keeping track of Etna's pulse