16/03/2024
The two faces of Vesuvius, “mouth of hell” or “Patron Saint”?
Is your Italian village in the Vesuvius area? It changes dramatically in the last century!
Surrounding Naples, (Italy's third largest city and considered the capital of the south), is the so-called Vesuvian belt, an area that includes as many as 25 municipalities, belonging precisely to the province of Naples. Of these, 13 are included in the Vesuvius National Park, the protected area established around Mount Vesuvius...
This area is one of the most densely populated not only in Italy, but also in Europe, perhaps in the world!!!
Wait a minute…one of the most urbanized areas in the world hosting a national park? One might ask in amazement! What's more, located at the foot of one of the active volcanoes, considered among the most dangerous in the world? That's right, Vesuvius is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world!
But let's go in order...
Vesuvius is an explosive type of volcano, which means that in the event of an eruption it would manifest as a violent explosion, similar or worse than the one destroying the city of Pompeii, centuries ago. Moreover, the area, as mentioned, is among the most densely populated in the world!
Here, then, are the two main reasons for its dangerousness, which are intertwined with the history of the National Park. This protected area was established in 1995 precisely to protect and redevelop an area that has unfortunately fallen into degradation and disfigured by illegal construction. Here we protect not only the valuable local flora and fauna but also paleontological formations and a whole system connected to the nature of the place. To put it in simple words the volcanic environment, with the lava soil, make the environment a unique and very fertile place, you can taste the products of the area to realize this, for example the famous Vesuvius cherry tomato.
So, what does the area around Vesuvius look like today? And aren't the inhabitants afraid to live here?
I grew up in the so-called "red zone," that is the one most at risk in case of an eruption! We grew up with a vague awareness of an evacuation plan, each municipality would be twinned in a certain region of Italy. For us it was a kind of game and perhaps it still is.
Vesuvius for us is the place for a walk, where to eat the typical “pizza a metro” (a meter long special pizza). The place for us to see the rare flashes of snow, where to spend romantic moments with the boyfriend admiring the view: that immense expanse of lights over the Bay of Naples. For us it is the myth of St. Gennaro who stopped the lava centuries ago, for us it is a silhouette that gives confidence! It seems incredible! But it is! Perhaps in our hearts we think that Vesuvius instead of hurting us loves us and wants to protect us.
We move placidly through our crowded municipalities, which do not fail to host priceless treasures such as the Vesuvian Villas, Roman-era villas hidden and saved from concrete, and our world-famous archaeological areas (Pompeii and Herculaneum), perhaps using the “circumvesuviana”, the electric train that connects Naples to the whole area.
Our eye sometimes falls there, to Vesuvius. Look! We say to each other as happy as babies, today there is snow on the top! He winks at us from there.
Is it going to erupt? Demonic menace or holy protector? Vesuvius after all is just like the "Vesuvians," its inhabitants.
Vesuvius National Park | History, Nature, Tradition, Geology
https://www.parconazionaledelvesuvio.it/en/