Vesuvius

Active volcano in Campania, Italy, 15 km/9 mi southeast of Naples, Italy; height 1,277 m/4,190 ft (1969; the height of the main cone changes with each eruption). In AD 79 it destroyed the cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland.

Vesuvius is a composite volcano at the convergent plate margin where the African plate is subducting beneath the Eurasian plate. Its lava is andesite in composition and consequently very viscous, giving rise to explosive eruptions. Vesuvius is comprised of two cones. Monte Somma (1,277 m/4,190 ft), the remnant of a massive wall which once enclosed a huge cone in prehistoric times, is now a semicircular girdle of cliff to the north and east, separated from the main eruptive cone by the valley of Atrio di Cavallo. Layers of lava, scoriae, ashes, and pumice make up the mountain.

The surprising fertility of the volcano's slopes, especially for the cultivation of grapes and production of ‘Lacrimae Christi’ wine, explains why the environs of Vesuvius remain densely populated in spite of the constant threat of eruption.

Eruptions
The eruption on 24 August AD 79 ended a dormant period so long that the volcano had been presumed extinct. This, the earliest recorded eruption, buried Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae under ashes and mud, and was described by Pliny the Younger. During the eruptions of 472 and 1631 particles of dust are said to have landed in Constantinople (modern Istanbul). Other years of great activity were 1794, 1822, 1855, 1871, 1906, 1929, and 1944. There has been no eruption since 1944.