In the modern territory of continental Europe, there are three fire-breathing mountains: the Sicilian volcano Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius. The latter is located just fifteen kilometers from the city of Naples, Italy. This volcano is an integral part of the Mediterranean mobile belt, which begins in Europe and ends in Indonesia. Its total height is approximately one thousand two hundred and seventy-six meters, the depth of the crater is approximately three hundred meters, and its width is about six hundred meters. The volcano Vesuvius hides two magma chambers under it. The first is at a depth of 3 km, the second - at 10-15 km. Looking at the volcano from a bird's eye view, you can notice three cones: the first is a mountain called the Somme, the second is located inside it, and the third is at the bottom of the crater. The latter also becomes invisible after eruptions.
The rich history of the volcano is full of earthquakes of different strengths. In the year one thousand six hundred and sixty BC, the famous Avellino eruption led to global climate change on our planet. In the sixty-second year A.D. Herculaneum, Pompeii and other cities, which were located at the foot of Vesuvius, were seriously affected by the earthquake. Many settlements were never restored to the end and finally died during the eruption of the seventy-ninth year AD An eyewitness to this disaster was Pliny the Younger, who later spoke about the disaster in two well-known letters to Cornelius Tacitus, thanks to which this eruption is considered the starting point of reference to the history of Vesuvius.
After the seventy-ninth year AD the cities at the foot of the volcano were like a lunar landscape. Inhabitants of the destroyed areas left these precarious places. Later, people began to return to the fertile lands located around the volcano. However, this became a fatal mistake for many: Vesuvius did not calm down and continued to erupt. In the thousand and sixty-third year, the earthquake was so terrifying that the volcanic ash reached Istanbul itself, which is already three hundred and thirty kilometers from Vesuvius. This time, the natural elements claimed about four thousand human lives.
Subsequently, Mount Vesuvius volcanically erupted in 1794, 1822, 1872 and 1906. The last lava emissions occurred in nineteen forty-fourth. During the eruption, Mount Vesuvius damaged Italian cities such as Massa and San Sebastiano.
In the eighteen hundred and forty-first year, scientists created the world's first volcanological observatory, designed to observe and study Vesuvius. Each gas emission and any vibration of the volcano is detected by the latest sensors, and they are also monitored every minute from the Earth’s satellite. According to experts, "Vesuvius is the most controlled volcano on the planet."
The path to the place where Mount Vesuvius is located was difficult and long. But, despite this, the crater has always attracted the attention of travelers. To facilitate the ascent to the volcano, it was decided to build a funicular lift. For six years, technical services have been working hard on this challenging project. In 1880, the construction of the funicular was completed. After 1944, he was replaced by a chairlift, lasting for forty years. Nowadays, to climb to the crater and see Vesuvius volcano at a short distance, you just need to drive a car, and the remaining meters will not be difficult to overcome on foot in a few minutes.
Today, this amazing and formidable creation of nature is one of the most visited attractions in Italy. And only clouds of smoke above the vents remind of the frantic and merciless power that lurks in the bowels of the volcano.