Vesuvius Vesuvio

Situation

Rearing abruptly out of the plain some 15km/9mi southeast of Naples on the shores of the bay of Naples, Vesuvius has been since the 17th century the only volcano on the European mainland which is still intermittently active.

The height of Vesuvius varies from time to time, since every eruption of any violence alters the shape of the summit: it is roughly 1,280m/4,225ft high.

Picture - Close up of Mt Vesuvius near Naples.

Picture - View of Naples from Mount Vesuvius.

View a slideshow of Vesuvius Pictures

Vesuvius Map

The crater now has a circumference of 1,400m/1,532yd, a maximum diameter of 600m/656yd and a depth of 216m/236yd; before the last major eruption in 1944 the circumference was 3,400m/3,720yd.

Northeast of the main crater, and separated from it by the deep valley known as the Atrio del Cavallo, is Monte Somma (1,132m/3,736ft), a relic of the caldera of an older volcano which had a diameter of 4km/2.5mi.

Eruptions

Vesuvius first emerged in the Quaternary in the form of an island. In antiquity it was regarded as extinct until the violent eruption on August 24th in the year A.D. 79 which destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae and a number of smaller places.

Between that date and 1139 there were 15 eruptions, after which the volcano appeared to be quiescent, and woodland and scrub spread right up to the rim of the crater. In 1631, however, it came back to life with a fearsome eruption. The last eruption was on March 10th 1944, when the funicular from Ercolano (then known as Resina) up the mountain was destroyed. Since then Vesuvius - as is normally the case for a few years after a major eruption - has remained inactive apart from a number of fumaroles.

The ash cone and the more recent lava flows are almost devoid of vegetation, but the older weathered lavas form a fertile soil for the growth of oaks and chestnuts at medium heights and of fruit and vines below 500m/1,640ft.

Related Attractions

Ascent of Vesuvius

For the ascent of Vesuvius, leave the Naples-Salerno motorway at the Ercolano exit and take the Strada del Vesuvio, which winds its way uphill between lava flows. In 7km/4.5mi it comes to the Albergo Eremo, where a short side road goes off to the Observatory, founded in 1845, with a museum.

In another 3km/2mi the road forks. To the left is a road running up the north side of Vesuvius to the Colle Margherita (3km/2mi), from which it is a 20 min climb on foot to the rim of the crater. The road continues straight ahead and in 1.5km/1mi comes to the lower station of a chair-lift (753m/2,485ft) which goes up to the upper station (1,158m/3,821ft); at present the chair-lift is not in operation. At the top there is a fascinating one-hour walk around the crater and magnificent views.

Another road (toll payable) runs from Torre Annunziata, a village to the southwest of the volcano. The route first leads northeast for 2km/1.25mi to Boscotrecase, then 10km/6mi northwest, past the Nuova Casa Bianca restaurant and up the southeast slopes of Vesuvius with numerous bends. Some time ago the area around the crater was designated a protected area.