Avellino eruption

The Battle of Vesuvius (also known as the Battle of the Veseris) was the first recorded battle of the Latin War. The battle was fought near Mount Vesuvius in 340 BC between the Romans, with their allies the Samnites, against a coalition of several peoples: Latins, Campanians, Volsci, Sidicini, and Aurunci. The surviving sources on the battle, however, focus almost solely on the Romans (led by Titus Manlius Torquatus and Publius Decius Mus) and the Latins. The battle became famous for two episodes said to have taken place: Manlius Torquatus' execution of his own son after he disobeyed orders and fought an enemy champion in single combat, and the self-sacrifice of Decius Mus, who devoted himself and the enemy army to the gods of the underworld, and then charged into the enemy lines and was slain.After Decius Mus had fallen, consul Manlius Torquatus led his veteran reserve against Latin lines and killed or captured nearly three fourths of the Latin army. The remaining soldiers of the Latin army fled, but because the Roman loss was so great, they could not pursue their enemies.

Mount Somma (Italian: Monte Somma, lit. 'Mount Summit') is a mountain located in the Province of Naples, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is 1,132 metres (3,714 ft) high. It is an integral part of the Somma–Vesuvius volcanic complex and of the larger Campanian volcanic arc, which is known for its high levels of seismic and volcanic activity. The volcano is believed to have formed over 25,000 years ago. It has a collapsed caldera of an older volcano, with Mount Vesuvius rising up from the center. Despite the potential dangers associated with living near an active volcano, the Somma volcano and its surroundings are a popular tourist destination.

Vesuvius National Park (Italian: Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio) is an Italian national park centered on the active volcano Vesuvius, southeast from Naples. The park was founded on June 5, 1995, and covers an area of around 135 square kilometers all located within the Province of Naples. It is centered on the active volcano and its most ancient (now inactive) crater, Monte Somma. It houses 612 vegetable species and 227 wildlife ones.

Of the many eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, a major stratovolcano in southern Italy, the best-known is its eruption in 79 AD, which was one of the deadliest and best-known in European history.In the autumn of 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius violently spewed forth a deadly cloud of super-heated tephra and gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), ejecting molten rock, pulverized pumice and hot ash at 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing 100,000 times the thermal energy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The event gives its name to the Vesuvian type of volcanic eruption, characterised by columns of hot gases and ash reaching the stratosphere, although the event also included pyroclastic flows associated with Pelean eruptions. The event destroyed several towns and minor settlements in the area, at the time part of the Roman Empire. Pompeii and Herculaneum, obliterated and buried underneath massive pyroclastic surges and ashfall deposits, are the most famous examples. After archaeological excavations revealed much about the lives of the inhabitants, the area became a major tourist attraction and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and part of Vesuvius National Park. The total population of both cities was over 20,000. The remains of over 1,500 people have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum so far, although the total death toll from the eruption remains unknown.

Mount Vesuvius ( viss-OO-vee-əs; Italian: Vesuvio [veˈzuːvjo, -ˈsuː-]; Neapolitan: 'O Vesuvio [o vəˈsuːvjə], also 'A muntagna or 'A montagna; Latin: Vesuvius [wɛˈsʊwi.ʊs], also Vesevius, Vesvius or Vesbius) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km (5.6 mi) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera, resulting from the collapse of an earlier, much higher structure. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabiae, and several other settlements. The eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ashes and volcanic gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), erupting molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 6×105 cubic metres (7.8×105 cu yd) per second. More than 1,000 people are thought to have died in the eruption, though the exact toll is unknown. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.Vesuvius has erupted many times since. It is the only volcano on Europe's mainland to have erupted in the last hundred years. It is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because 3,000,000 people live near enough to be affected by an eruption, with at least 600,000 in the danger zone. This is the most densely populated volcanic region in the world. Eruptions tend to be violent and explosive; these are known as Plinian eruptions.

San Sebastiano al Vesuvio (Neapolitan: San Bastiane) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, located on the western slopes of Mount Vesuvius. Its elevation means that it is often a few degrees cooler than the neighbouring metropolis of Naples. In 1944 it was struck by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius during the Allies' occupation of southern Italy, but has since been rebuilt. The main attraction is the church of San Sebastiano Martire from the 16th century.

Pollena Trocchia is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 11 km east of Naples. It was created in 1811 from two already existing villages, Pollena and Trocchia, both of Samnite-Etruscan origin. Pollena took its name from the cult of Apollo, who had an important temple here in the Roman and pre-Roman ages. Both were destroyed by the 1631 eruption of Vesuvius. The baths of an ancient Roman villa were discovered at Masseria De Carolis in Pollena Trocchia in 1988 and subsequently exposed.

Torre del Greco (Italian pronunciation: [ˈtorre del ˈɡrɛːko]; "Greek man's Tower") is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Naples in Italy, with a population of c. 85,000 as of 2016. The locals are sometimes called Corallini because of the once plentiful coral in the nearby sea, and because the city has been a major producer of coral jewellery and cameo brooches since the seventeenth century.

The Basilica of Santa Maria a Pugliano is the main church in Ercolano and the oldest church in the area around Mount Vesuvius. The church contains two pagan marble sarcophagi from the 2nd and 4th centuries AD, later adapted into Christian altars, probably in the 11th century. There are records of an oratory dedicated to the Virgin Mary in the 11th century on a hill called Pugliano, whose name probably derives from the 'praedium pollianum', a farm on the outskirts of Ercolano belonging to someone called Pollio or Pollione. One noblewoman in Naples in 1076 left legacies to various churches in the city as well as to 'S.Maria at Pugnanum tari 8'. Her will is the oldest document that confirms the existence and the high reputation of the church in the 11th century. During the following centuries the church's popularity increased more and more and pilgrims flooded here from everywhere. In the early years after the Council of Trent the church obtained formal acknowledgement of its eminence: in 1574 was first mentioned as "basilica"; two years later became the parish church of Resina and Portici and by papal bull on 13 June 1579 Pope Gregory XIII confirmed the plenary indulgences of his predecessors to the pilgrims visiting the church on the first Friday of March, Easter Day and 15 August, Assumption day. In that century main works were made to enlarge and embellish the church. During the eruption of 1631 the churc was miraculously spared by the lava. Some years later a new street (via Pugliano) was built on the solidified lava to easily reach the church from the town centre. On 18 October 1849 Pope Pius IX, hosted in the royal palace of Portici by the king of Naples during his exile from Rome, visited the basilica. The church is worth a visit for its remarkable history and art treasures: the massive 36-meter high belfry from the end of the 16th century is one of the oldest of the area. Inside the church, there are sarcophagi from the 2nd and 4th centuries AD, that prove the existence of inhabitants in the area of Herculaneum in the aftermath of the eruption in AD 79; the exquisite wooden statues of Madonna di Pugliano and Black Crucifix, both of the 14th century; the font of 1425, one of the oldest outside the cathedral of Naples; the high altar, of the 16th century; the wooden bust of St. Januarius of the 17th century, the magnificent wooden pulpit of 1685, coeval to the wooden choir and behind the altar. Most of the paintings were made by local artists in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Madonna di Pugliano is worshipped since ever, but before the statue of the 14th century the painted Byzantine-like Madonna di Ampellone was venerated. The main patronal festival is on 15 August, Assumption Day. A special worship is dedicated to St. Januarius, that is co-patron of Ercolano; the statue of the saint has always been carried in procession during the eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius toward the lava front. A bust of St. Januarius facing Mt. Vesuvius was frequently erected in villas and buildings to protect them by the fury of Mt. Vesuvius.

Villa Favorita, also known as Real Villa della Favorita, was a royal rural palace (villa) in Ercolano, Italy.

Cercola is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 9 km northeast of Naples. Cercola borders the following municipalities: Massa di Somma, Naples, Pollena Trocchia, San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Volla.