Vesuvius & Pompeii

By Jaimy de Vries

It’s not a question if the volcano will erupt again, but when....!?

Dangerous volcano

The large city of Naples lives in the shadow of the volcano Vesuvius. About 2 million people live around this volcano. I thought the volcano was no longer active, but to my surprise I found out that it’s still active!! In fact, it’s expected that there will be an eruption soon. I came to this knowledge when I was standing on the top of the volcano listening to a tour guide who was giving us more information. At that moment I saw that there was smoke coming out of the volcano, I swallowed… I thought to myself: ‘Omg man, you just tell me this now!? And why do I always get myself in these situations!?’. The Volcanic Vesuvius is one of the most dangerous in the world; because it is active and there are two million people living in the area around the volcano.

One of the most famous volcano eruptions in history comes from the volcano Vesuvius. You probably know it: the story of the buried city of Pompeii or maybe you know it from the movie Pompeii. We took a guided tour through the city of Pompeii and the climb to the Vesuvius volcano. I would like to share with you the story of Pompeii.

The Roman city of Pompeii was buried (and preserved) under a layer of ash in AD 79 during an eruption of the volcano Vesuvius. Only 10% of the city has been excavated and opened to the public. Yes you read it right: excavated! The city was under a layer of more than 7 meters of ash. The city was not “destroyed” by lava but by a volcanic eruption of ash and stone. Impressive how dangerous a volcano eruption can be, that in just a couple of seconds the life of the romans in Pompeii ended. Flight was not possible, the heat and ash reached Pompeii at a speed of 500 km per second. You couldn’t run from that speed. The inhabitants were literally baked alive. Most residents had already fled, because there were earthquakes a couple days before the eruption. A big warning! However, 2000 of the 20,000 inhabitants had not fled on time or were just damn stubborn (you always have those people …).

People discovered the city 1700 years later and have been excavating ever since. During the tour we visited the houses where the Romans lived, where they worked and where they got their lunch. They mostly eat street food. The movie Pompeii is very romanticized. In the movie you saw a lava eruption and it seemed like you could flee. Flights were not possible for the residents of Pompeii. The inhabitants also looked tall and slim. Well the Romans were certainly not handsome: they were small and a bit rougher in shape. They didn’t ride horses, they rode donkeys … because horses were too big for them to climb on.

Then why do people still settle here? Even after the disappearance of the city of Pompeii? I wondered… When I asked the Italians who live around this area it turns out to be because the soil of the ground is very ripe and nutritious due to the lava, because of the warm Mediterranean sun and the fresh air of the sea. This is why the limoncello from this region is the best in the world. The region is known for its high quality lemons and tomatoes. The Italians love good food and therefore take this risk. Look that is passion and zest for life!