Mount Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano located on thee Gulf of Naples in Camania, Italy. It is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and several other settlements. The eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ashes and volcanic gases to a height of 33km, spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 6x10 cubic meters per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings. More than 1000 people died in the eruption, but exact numbers are unknown. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters of Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.

Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3 million people living nearby.

It was a hard walk up the hill due to the heat and humidity and it was only 0930 in the morning.