The volcano of Pompeii
Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano: a young cone, the Gran Cono, standing inside the broken rim of an older and once much higher volcano, Monte Somma. The caldera began to form some 17,000–18,000 years ago and was enlarged by later great eruptions, the last of them in 79 AD, which also built the present cone. That is why the volcano is often called Somma-Vesuvio, and why geologists use "somma volcano" for any cone inside a caldera. The summit of the Gran Cono is 1,281 m high and rises more than 400 m above the Atrio di Cavallo, the 5 km valley between the cone and the cliffs of Monte Somma, whose highest point, Punta Nasone, is 1,132 m. The crater is about 450 m across and 300 m deep; small fumaroles show that the volcano is quiescent, not extinct.
Vesuvius is one of the Decade Volcanoes, considered among the most dangerous in the world because so many people live around it. INGV's Vesuvius Observatory currently classifies it at the green alert level, meaning low activity; small earthquakes inside the crater are attributed to rocks settling.
The eruption of 79 AD
The eruption that destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabiae and other settlements lasted about two days. Around midday on the first day an explosion sent a column of stones, ash and gas to a height of about 33 km, from which pumice and ash fell over the countryside, collapsing roofs. During the night and the next morning pyroclastic surges and flows, fast, dense and extremely hot, swept down the slopes, knocking down buildings and killing the people who had stayed. Herculaneum, closer to the vent, was spared the ash fall by the wind but buried under about 23 m of pyroclastic deposits. More than 1,000 victims have been found; the full death toll is unknown.
The only eyewitness account is in two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus. His uncle, Pliny the Elder, commander of the Roman fleet at Misenum, sailed across the bay to rescue friends and died on the shore. From Pliny's description, volcanologists call the most violent explosive eruptions "Plinian".
Later eruptions and 1944
Vesuvius has erupted dozens of times since 79 AD. In 472 and in 1631 its ash fell on Constantinople, more than 1,200 km away. The eruption of December 1631 buried many villages and killed around 3,000–4,000 people, and opened a period of almost continuous activity, with eruptions in 1660, 1694, 1707, 1737, 1767, 1779, 1794, 1822, 1872, 1906 and others, during which the cone reached its highest recorded height of about 1,302 m.
The last eruption took place in March 1944, while Allied troops occupied Naples. Lava overflowed the crater rim on 18 March and destroyed the villages of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio and Massa di Somma and part of San Giorgio a Cremano; lava fountains rose 800 m above the crater, and ash and pumice covered Ottaviano and much of southern Italy. About 26 people died. At Pompeii Airfield near Terzigno, tephra wrecked between 78 and 88 B-25 bombers of the US 340th Bomb Group. Since then a rock plug has blocked the conduit and Vesuvius has been quiet: the current lull is the longest in centuries.
Where it is and how to get there
Vesuvius stands on the Gulf of Naples, about 9 km east of the city, surrounded by towns that climb its lower slopes: Ercolano (Herculaneum), Torre del Greco, Ottaviano, San Sebastiano, Boscotrecase and others. The Vesuvius National Park was established on 5 June 1995 to protect the Somma-Vesuvius complex; it includes 13 municipalities and has its headquarters in Ottaviano.
The crater path starts at the Piazzale at quota 1,000, at the end of the provincial road from Ercolano. The Circumvesuviana railway from Naples to Sorrento stops at Ercolano Scavi (and Pompei Scavi), from where local buses run up the mountain; there are also private shuttles. Parking is not allowed at the Piazzale itself: parking areas along the road are run by the municipality of Ercolano, and the park advises buying a parking place only after you have your crater ticket. A second entrance at quota 1,050 on the Ottaviano side was being activated in 2026.
The crater path: tickets and rules
The walk to the crater is the park's trail no. 5, Il Gran Cono: a path of about 3.8 km in total, climbing from 1,000 m to the crater rim at about 1,170 m, past the Capannuccia and the Rifugio Imbò. It is the most visited trail of the park and graded easy, but the gravel surface is steep and dusty in places. Rules as of 2026:
- Tickets only online, from the park's sole authorised seller, vesuviopark.vivaticket.it: €11.68 full price and €9.55 reduced (as listed by the park in 2026). There is no ticket office on site.
- Timed entry. Tickets go on sale 30 days ahead, 50 for every 10-minute slot; a further 10 "last-minute" tickets per slot are released 30 minutes before it, can only be bought through the Wi-Fi near the entrance (up to 5 per e-mail address) and have been nominative since 11 April 2026. You may enter from 120 minutes before to 120 minutes after the time on a regular ticket.
- Opening hours: 9:00–18:00 in July and August; 9:00–17:00 in April, May, June and September; 9:00–16:00 in March and October; 9:00–15:00 from November to February. The walk must end within an hour of the last admission.
- Accompanied groups. Above 1,000 m visitors walk in groups of 20 accompanied by guides of the Presidio Permanente Vulcano Vesuvio; up to 60 people enter every 10 minutes, with a maximum of 360 an hour. Keep to the right on the path.
- Duration: at most 2 hours for the return walk on the short route and 3 hours for the loop to the Rifugio Imbò. The upper path along the northern and eastern rim is closed for safety.
- Weather closures. The path and ticket sales close automatically on days when the regional civil protection issues an orange or higher weather alert; tickets for closed slots are refunded automatically.
The park's other ten trails, around Monte Somma, the Valle dell'Inferno, the Tirone-Alto Vesuvio reserve and the 1906 lava vents, need no ticket.
When to go and weather
The crater can be visited all year; summer days are long but hot and hazy, and the rim can be windy and much cooler than Naples at any season. Spring and autumn usually give the clearest views over the bay, Capri and Ischia, but the summit is often in cloud, so check the forecast. Go early in the day in summer, and remember that orange weather alerts close the path.
Water
There is no natural water on the Gran Cono. A few kiosks along the path and at the rim sell drinks and snacks, and there are refreshment points at the Piazzale, but public toilets at the Piazzale were temporarily unavailable in 2026. Bring at least half a litre to a litre per person for the 1.5–2 hour walk, more in summer, and a hat: there is no shade.
Mobile coverage and internet
The slopes of Vesuvius are surrounded by towns and covered by Italian mobile networks, but the signal at the entrance can be weak, which is why the park sells last-minute tickets through a local Wi-Fi network. Download your ticket before you arrive. The emergency number in Italy is 112; the park keeps an ambulance or rescue vehicle at the Piazzale.
The red zone and the evacuation plan
The greatest danger of Vesuvius is not to hikers but to the people around it. Italy's national emergency plan defines a red zone of about 200 km² where preventive evacuation is the only protection: it covers 24 municipalities and three districts of Naples (Barra, Ponticelli and San Giovanni a Teduccio), with about 600,000–700,000 residents. The plan assumes two to three weeks' warning, an evacuation of about seven days by train, ship, bus and car, and twinning of each municipality with another Italian region that would host its residents for months. Efforts continue to reduce the population of the zone by demolishing illegal buildings and offering incentives to move.
The Vesuvius Observatory
The Osservatorio Vesuviano, the oldest volcano observatory in the world, was founded in 1841 by Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and inaugurated in 1845 at the 7th Congress of Italian Scientists. Its first director was the physicist Macedonio Melloni; his successor Luigi Palmieri built the first electromagnetic seismograph there in 1856. The building, on a hill about 2 km from the crater chosen for its open horizon, was surrounded by lava in 1872 and isolated for days. Since 2000 the observatory has been part of INGV; its monitoring centre is in Naples, and the historic building on the slope houses a museum of old instruments.
Interesting facts
- The song "Funiculì, Funiculà" was written to celebrate the funicular railway that opened on Vesuvius in 1880; the 1944 eruption destroyed the line.
- Before 79 AD Vesuvius was not feared: the geographer Strabo described its flat, ash-coloured summit and only guessed that it might once have had "craters of fire", and household shrines in Pompeii depict the god Vesuvius as a serpent.
- The eruption of 3,800 years ago, called the Avellino eruption, buried Bronze Age villages; near Nola archaeologists found thousands of footprints of people fleeing.
- The vines on the lower slopes produce Lacryma Christi wine.
- Compared with the 2001 emergency plan, the current red zone was enlarged to include areas threatened by roof collapse under ash and lapilli, not only by pyroclastic flows.
FAQ
How high is Mount Vesuvius? 1,281 m at the summit of the Gran Cono (the national park gives 1,277 m). Monte Somma's highest point, Punta Nasone, is 1,132 m.
How long does the crater walk take? From the Piazzale at 1,000 m to the rim at about 1,170 m and back allow 1.5–2 hours; the maximum allowed is 2 hours on the short route and 3 hours on the loop via the Rifugio Imbò.
How difficult is it? Easy: a wide gravel path with about 170–200 m of ascent, steep in places. Wear closed shoes because the surface is dusty and loose.
How much does it cost and do I need to book? Tickets are sold only online at the park's official seller, about €12 full price and €9.55 reduced in 2026, for a 10-minute time slot; there is no ticket office at the entrance.
Is there water on the way? No natural water, but kiosks on the path and at the rim sell drinks. Carry at least half a litre to a litre, more in summer.
Is there mobile phone coverage? Generally yes, but it can be weak at the entrance, so download your ticket in advance. The emergency number is 112.
When is the best time to visit? Spring and autumn for clear views and mild temperatures; in summer go early. The path closes on orange weather-alert days.
When did Vesuvius last erupt, and could it erupt again? In March 1944. It is quiescent, not extinct, and is monitored day and night; the alert level is currently green.