The active Volcanoes in the Gulf of Naples: a cue for an unusual tour

Despite what one can think, we can still visit volcanic craters along the Bay of Naples by Mount Somma-Vesuvius, the Island of Ischia and the Campi Flegrei. The apparent quietness of the Volcanoes present in the Gulf of Naples could make us think they are extinct craters. On the contrary, three are the calderas which are still active: that of Mount Somma- Vesuvius, that of Campi Flegrei and that of the Island of Ischia. This is particularity that few people know and that can offer a cue for an unusual tour. Actually, the volcanic activity of the Neapolitan area is linked to the tectonic phenomena which in the last 7 million years have caused the stretching and the breaking of the earth’s crust by the Tyrrhenian edge of the Apennine range. From this phenomenon a kind of collapse took origin with the formation of a depressed area between Massico Mount (to the north) and Sorrento Coast (to the South), which has taken the name of Graben (Rift valley) of Campania plain. Right inside this valley favourable conditions for the upstream of magma and lava took origin. Although in the area no relevant eruptive phenomena verify, the volcanic craters present here (those of Vesuvius, Island of Ischia and Campi Flegrei) are considered to be still active. Those who wish to do an unusual tour passing by these places can contact the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (which is at the Vesuvian Observatory in Naples) at the number 081/6108111. In this way you can address an absolutely influential institution. The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, in fact, promotes and makes specific activities in the field of volcanology, of physical subjects and their applications. Among the activities the board dedicates itself to there is the study of physical and chemical phenomena before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and also of the evaluation methods of the seismic and volcanic risks.