Vesuvius is the most famous active volcano in history, the undisputed symbol of the city of Naples and Pompeii.
Known all over the world for its danger and catastrophic eruptions.
Among the most popular and violent eruptions of Vesuvius is the one in 79 A.D. that led to the destruction of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplonti and Stabia.
Referred to by all as Plinian eruption because it was described by Pliny the younger in a letter to his friend Tacitus.
The eruptions of Vesuvius
Various eruptions of Vesuvius have occurred over the years. But it is best remembered and best known by all for the eruption in 79 AD that led to the destruction of Pompeii, Herculaneum and the other Vesuvian towns.
In reality, however, there were others before the eruption of 79 AD, which were just as powerful and catastrophic as this one. For example, the Avellino pumice eruption, which occurred exactly 4 million years ago and preceded the eruption that destroyed Pompeii.
This was the one with the greatest impact on the territory. Ash and lapilli arrived kilometres away, precisely at Avellino, from which the famous eruption of Vesuvius takes its name, and caused very strong tidal waves in the coastal areas of the Gulf of Naples.
These were followed by a series of eruptions of Vesuvius referred to as sub-Plinian.
The last in order of time was the one that took place in 1944. Which destroyed Massa di Somma and San Sebastiano, and sprinkled Ottaviano and the whole of southern Italy with ashes.
This eruption of Vesuvius was documented and made famous by the Anglo-American newsreels, that occupied the city of Naples at the time because of the war.
It was with the eruption of 1944 that the Great Cone of Vesuvius took its present form, since then the volcano has entered a dormant phase.
The eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii
It was on 24 October in 79 A.D. and not 24 August, as initially assumed, that a violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii under a layer of ash and lapilli about 3 to 6 metres high.
It was thanks to Pliny the younger’s letter to his friend Tacitus, that it was possible to reconstruct what happened on that terrible day in Pompeii.
Pliny the Younger was with his uncle Pliny the Elder at the villa of Misenum in Naples. When they were warned by Pliny the Elder’s wife of the huge mushroom of smoke and fire that could be glimpsed in the distance.
Pliny the Younger described what he saw as follows:
“A cloud was rising, looking from afar it was not easy to tell where the cloud originated (later it turned out to be Vesuvius). The smoke was in the shape of a very tall pine tree. At the bottom it was so slender that it looked like a trunk, then it widened into what could have been its crown.“
According to the reconstruction, it was around 1 p.m. when the plug obstructing the crater of Vesuvius ruptured and an incessant rain of ash and lapilli began. Which in just five hours covered the city of Pompeii, reaching a height of up to one metre and causing the first collapses.
At six o’clock the next morning, the volcanic materials reached 2 metres and in the following two hours. Pompeii was reached by three pyroclastic flows, flows of magmatic material and gas at high temperatures, which caused the destruction of all of Pompeii.
The rain of ash continued unceasingly for the next four days and then stopped.
Many of the Pompeians died as a result of volcanic gas fumes (including Pliny the Elder). Others were hit by erupting pumice and buried under metres of volcanic material.
The eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Herculaneum
The eruption of 79 A.D. destroyed not only the large and famous Pompeii, but also the small and flourishing town of Herculaneum.
Unlike Pompeii, Herculaneum was located further down the valley, close to the slopes of Vesuvius.
Due to its location, it was not initially hit by the rain of ash and lapilli that fell on Pompeii. But only later, when the volcanic materials spewing from Vesuvius began to collapse in on themselves. Herculaneum was hit by the powerful pyroclastic flows (ash, hot gases, and water vapour).
The Herculaneans tried to get to safety already at the first signs of the eruption that struck Pompeii, trying to reach the sea so that someone would take them to safety, but no one ever came. The power of the pyroclastic flows hit them too.
Harshest testimony to the dynamics of the eruption is the discovery of thousands of bodies in the great fornices near the sea.
Uncertainty about the date of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
For years it was believed that the date of the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii was 24 August 79 A.D., but the latest findings have called this hypothesis into question.
Not only the discovery of a date engraved in charcoal on one of the walls of the houses of Pompeii that bears the date 17 October.
But also the finding under the ashes of typically autumn fruits such as dried figs, chestnuts, walnuts and pomegranates have led to the hypothetical date of the eruption being 24 October.
The paths of Vesuvius
Vesuvius is currently in a dormant phase and appears as a mountain rich in vegetation, especially on the summit side. In order to make it possible to visit the volcano, the Vesuvius National Park has created no less than 11 trails, all different in type, altitude, landscape and altitude difference.
One of the most impressive is the Valle dell’inferno (Hell Valley) path, which corresponds exactly to SENTIERO N. 1 and is located between Monte Somma and Vesuvius, where you can admire the lava deposits from the last eruption in 1944.
Following this is SENTIERO N. 2 relating to the cognoli. One of the wildest and most scenic trails in the park, with the presence of rope-shaped Vesuvius lava formations.
No less impressive is SENTIERO N. 3 on Monte Somma and punta nasone, the highest peak of the mountain. When you reach the tip, you can enjoy an extraordinary view over the valley of the giant, which is home to lava flows dating back to the last eruption of Vesuvius in 1944.
Of course, one cannot fail to mention SENTIERO N.5 for a visit to the Gran Cono del Vesuvio, through which it is possible to reach the volcano’s caldera.
And if you want to totally immerse yourself in the lava flows of Vesuvius, you have to walk along SENTIERO N. 9, that of the lava river.
Here the lava flow and pyroclastic deposits are tinged with silvery grey, the colour of the famous Vesuvius lichen that has formed on it.
