Since the first recorded eruption in 79 AD, when it buried the towns and inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius has dominated the lives of those who live on the Bay of Naples, its brooding bulk forming a stately backdrop to the ever-growing settlements that group around its lower slopes. It's a still active volcano, the only one on the mainland of Europe. There have been more than a hundred eruptions over the years, but only two others of real significance – one in December 1631 that engulfed many nearby towns and killed 3000 people and the last, in March 1944, which caused widespread devastation in the reawakening of the volcano. While driving up to the summit you will be able to see where the last lava flow. When you get to the summit, at 1277 m., you will be looking down into a cone with a flat barren bottom. In it's present state it is hard to believe that this volcano has been capable of spewing forth lava and ash, along with sending low banks of super hot gases and sliding debris toward villages miles away. Vapour continue to escape from cracks along the inner sides and bottom, but fencing prevents anyone from walking down inside for a closer view. Scientists calculate it should erupt every thirty years or so and it has not since 1944. It is carefully monitored of course and there is apparently no reason to except any movement for some time. But the subsidence in towns like Herculaneum and Pompeii, are a continuing reminder of the instability of the area, incidentally one of the southern Italy's most densely populated
Since the first recorded eruption in 79 AD, when it buried the towns and inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, Mount Vesuvius has dominated the lives of those who live on the Bay of Naples, its brooding bulk forming a stately backdrop to the ever-growing settlements that group around its lower slopes. It's a still active volcano, the only one on the mainland of Europe. There have been more than a hundred eruptions over the years, but only two others of real significance – one in December 1631 that engulfed many nearby towns and killed 3000 people and the last, in March 1944, which caused widespread devastation in the reawakening of the volcano. While driving up to the summit you will be able to see where the last lava flow. When you get to the summit, at 1277 m., you will be looking down into a cone with a flat barren bottom. In it's present state it is hard to believe that this volcano has been capable of spewing forth lava and ash, along with sending low banks of super hot gases and sliding debris toward villages miles away. Vapour continue to escape from cracks along the inner sides and bottom, but fencing prevents anyone from walking down inside for a closer view. Scientists calculate it should erupt every thirty years or so and it has not since 1944. It is carefully monitored of course and there is apparently no reason to except any movement for some time. But the subsidence in towns like Herculaneum and Pompeii, are a continuing reminder of the instability of the area, incidentally one of the southern Italy's most densely populated 