Climbing the Volcano that Destroyed Pompeii

              Today, along with a few other JWU students, I made the climb up the famous volcano, Mount Vesuvius, located just outside of Naples. I was under the impression the hike would take a few hours, but the starting point was already mostly up the mountain. It only took a half hour of steep climbing on gravel to get to the top where the crater is.

     The volcano is most famously known for it's destruction of the ancient city of Pompeii in 79 AD. The last eruption out of Vesuvius happened in 1944 and it is overdue for another one. If it were to erupt today, the few million people living the Naples and surrounding area (including me depending on the intensity of the eruption), would be buried in lava. Over the years, the eruptions from Mount Vesuvius have destroyed many towns and killed many people, yet the Neopolitans keep rebuilding because they can't imagine leaving the area.