Vesuvius is one of the most dangerous volcanoes
on Earth. Its story is fascinating – not only its rich geological and
geographical history, but also the changing social, religious and intellectual
impact that the volcano has always had upon the people living around it.
Hence, this book is truly a biography of a formidable and richly colourful
living entity.
Volcanoes are not passive like other mountains, and Vesuvius has been less
passive than most volcanoes. It is the paramount natural feature in the
whole region of Campania in southern Italy, and the constant rival of the
turbulent city of Naples that lies at its heart. The Campanians have never
been able to remember with serenity, nor to forget with impunity, that theirs
is a volcanic land. Vesuvius threatens in the east; a rash of smaller volcanoes
riddle the landscape of the Campi Flegrei to the west; and between them
lie Naples and a host of busy towns. For many centuries, the people believed
that the Underworld lurked beneath the ground itself.
Vesuvius has been as capricious as a spoilt courtesan. During its more tempestuous
outbursts, it has destroyed homes and whole villages, and sent thousands
of people to the Underworld. In calmer times, the destructive lava and ash
then weathered into soils of such exquisite fertility that they recalled
legends of a Golden Age. Some of that character has been manifested in the
behaviour of the Campanians. Vesuvius has played a part in Campanian society
that has been perhaps surpassed only by the strongest of rulers – or,
more recently, by the bosses of the notorious parallel government that holds
sway in the region. And, of course, Vesuvius buried Pompeii.
Vesuvius threatens its surroundings today. The development of contingency
plans for its next great eruption shows that scientists can apply the latest
techniques to discover when the next eruption is about to occur, but also
how such plans meet with a range of opposition from the people under threat.
Vesuvius: a biography is based on the latest research and also on a prudent
appraisal of contemporary historical accounts. Wherever possible, the story
is based on eye-witness accounts rivalling television coverage. Fresh translation
of classical source material features extensively.
Written with the non-specialist reader in mind,
the book will be compelling reading for not only geologists and geographers
but also emergency planners and all those fascinated by the dramatic face
of the Earth and eager to explore its rich human dimensions as much as its
spectacular physical processes.
Alwyn Scarth studied geography at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, and
at the University of Clermont-Ferrand in France. He is the author of La
catastrophe: Mount Pelée and the destruction of Saint-Pierre, Martinique
(Terra) and principal coauthor of Volcanoes of Europe (Terra), and
of three other books on volcanoes.
Preface; Acknowledgements
Ancient settlements; Foreign rule; Authority questioned;
Further reading
Campania; The Campi Flegrei volcanic field; The
growth of Somma–Vesuvius; The eruptions of SommaûVesuvius before
1631; Further reading
Two skeletons from the early Bronze Age; An early
Bronze Age village; Calm after the Avellino eruption; SommaûVesuvius
just before AD 79; Further reading
Roman Campania; The Roman Empire in AD 79; The Pliny
family; The two letters of Pliny the Younger; Damaging earthquakes; Pompeii;
Herculaneum; The southern flanks of Vesuvius: 24 August AD 79, morning;
Misenum: 24 August AD 79, noon; Rectina asks for help; Enquiry and rescue:
24 August, afternoon; Pompeii: 24 August, afternoon and evening; Stabiae:
24 August, evening; Herculaneum: 24–25 August; Oplontis: 25 August;
Pompeii: 24û25 August: the day of wrath; Stabiae: 25 August, dawn;
Misenum: 24–25 August; Victims of the eruption; Aftermath; Aid; Further
reading
Limitation of sources; Eruptions from AD 79 until 685; More persistent activity, c. AD 787–1139; Dormant Vesuvius; Further reading
An intellectual change; Spanish rule; Pozzuoli and Tripergole; Warnings of an eruption; The eruption begins: Sunday 29 September 1538; The effects of the eruption on Pozzuoli; A calm interlude: Tuesday 1 October to Thursday 3 October; Thursday afternoon, 3 October; Marchesino explores: Friday 4 October; Sunday 6 October; The aftermath; Further reading
The wages of sin; Vesuvius in 1631; Real, unrecognized and imaginary warnings from Vesuvius; The eruption begins: Tuesday 16 December; Exodus; The viceroy acts: 16 December; Flight from Torre del Greco; The first religious procession, Tuesday, 16 December; A drumroll; The night of 16–17 December; Pyroclastic flows: Wednesday 17 December; The pyroclastic flows reach Torre del Greco; Tsunamis; The procession on Wednesday 17 December; The processions on Thursday 18 December; The floods at Nola: Thursday 18 December; Rescue and recovery?; Friday 19 December; The waning phases of the eruption; Refugees and sinners; Results of the eruption; Future generations; Further reading
Old stones come to light; Excavations begin; Excavations at Pompeii; The role of Giuseppe Fiorelli; Further reading
Questions of pedigree; The envoy in Naples; Trespassing
on Vesuvian territory; The eruption of 1766; The eruption of October 1767;
The volcanoes of the Campi Flegrei and Etna; Campi Phlegraei; The eruption
of 1779; The eruption of June 1794; Enter Nelson; Hamilton as a volcanologist;
Further reading
Picturesque, sublime and classical; The view of Vesuvius from Naples; The trip to the foot of Vesuvius; Old lavas; Molten lavas; The cone and its crater; Descent; Further reading
The eruption of 1822; The eruption of 1872; Agitation 1875–1906; The eruption of 1906; The eruption of 1944; Further reading
La Solfatara; Bradyseismic movements; Planning for the next eruption; Further reading
The past is the key to the future; Warning signs; When will Vesuvius erupt again?; What will be erupted?; The contingency plan for Vesuvius; Communications and public awareness; The special problems of Campania; Some counter-suggestions; Relocation; Further reading
Appendix 1
The two letters of Pliny the Younger to Tacitus about the eruption of AD
79
Appendix 2
Cassiodorus: Variae Epistolae, letter 50
Glossary; Bibliography; Index
234×156mm 352pp.
ISBN-13: 978-1-903544-25-9 HB
Published in 2009
A Terra original publication
Available in North America from Princeton University Press
Subject: Environmental impact of natural disasters & phenomena
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