Vesuvius stories
The eruption of AD 79, Pompeii and Herculaneum, the eruptions that followed and the volcano today: true stories, with sources, to read before you climb to the crater.
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3 min read
The eruption of AD 79: what happened to Pompeii and Herculaneum
Two days that wiped out four Roman towns and preserved them for us: how the eruption unfolded, Pliny the Younger’s eyewitness account and the debate over the date.
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3 min read
Herculaneum and Pompeii: two towns, two fates
The same eruption, two different ways of being buried. Why wood, food and even books survived at Herculaneum, and what the skeletons in the boat sheds tell us.
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3 min read
Vesuvius today: is it still an active volcano?
Its last eruption was in 1944, but Vesuvius is not extinct: it is quiet, and one of the most closely watched volcanoes in the world. Who monitors it, how, and what it means for visitors.
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3 min read
The eruptions of Vesuvius after Pompeii
AD 79 was not the last time. From ash reaching Constantinople in 472 to the great eruption of 1631 and the American bombers destroyed in 1944: the eruptions that made history.
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3 min read
On the rim of the Gran Cono: what you see up there
The crater left by the 1944 eruption, the fumaroles, the Valle del Gigante and, on clear days, the whole Bay of Naples. A guide to what to look for from the rim of Vesuvius.