While spending some time in Rome, we decided to do a one-day trip to visit Pompei and to hike to the top of Mount Vesuvius. Pompei is an Italian city that is about 240 km away from Rome. Pompei was destroyed during the Vesuvius´ volcanic eruption in 79 AD, that was one of the biggest human tragedy ever. Volcanic rocks, gases, dust, hot lava (600°C) and collapsing roofs killed many people, not only in Pompei, but also in nearby towns e.g. Herculaneum. After the eruption, the city was buried under the volcanic ash. Due to the excavations, that were initiated in 1748 (and are still ongoing), we can learn a little bit about the history of ancient  Pompei and how Pompeian lived. The archaeological site of Pompei is like an open-air museum and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

As Italy is located on where the Eurasian Plate meets with the African Plate, it is home to many volcanoes. Majority of Italian volcanoes are extinct or dormant, but 3 volcanos are active and those are: the Mount Etna, Stromboli and Mount Vesuvius.  The Mount Vesuvius (1,281 m) is located on the west cost of Italy. It is an example of the stratovolcano, which means that it is composed of layers of hardened lava and pyroclastic material (e.g. rocks and ash). The last eruption of Vesuvius was in 1944.  Its seismic activity is constantly monitored, an updated information on the earthquakes near Vesuvius you can find on the Volcano Discovery website: https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/vesuvius-earthquakes.html