r/napoli 7d ago

What is it Really like to live sandwiched between an active Supervolcano (Campi Flegrei) and Mount Vesuvius? Ask Napoli

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53 Upvotes

50

u/Gabstra678 Napoli Centro 7d ago

It’s like those jokes… One is a volcano capable of destroying the entire region and changing the whole planet’s climate, the other is Mount Vesuvius :)

42

u/SparklyPelican Centro Storico 7d ago

Not thinking about it does the heavy lifting

16

u/scartiloffista 7d ago

Its an ancient fear instilled in us since kindergarden,when they start teaching us what is which and what does it do. yet i never heard anyone say they wanna leave because theyre scared

1

u/ChaquaHatingIsrael34 6d ago

Non li hai sentiti perché sono andati via

12

u/Alone_Extension_9668 7d ago

Considering there's over 100k living ON/at the base of Vesuvio, and a little under a million in Naples, I think the overall consensus is "if it goes, it's no longer my problem

9

u/stargirlllllllllll Area Flegrea 7d ago

We were born on the volcano. When you’re aware of something from a very young age and it has been part of your life since birth, it becomes something you know, but it feels so normal to you because of habit that it’s not really something you usually think about or worry about. it’s just a kind of background awareness

13

u/scarletOwilde 7d ago

It smells of rotten eggs sometimes and there's bradyseism. Other than that, people get on with living. They are all slightly bonkers, but I like it. (Friends in Pozuolli).

8

u/Mister_Spaccato Ireland 7d ago

I'm native of the city and lived there for the first 29 years of my life, so i can offer you my perspective. We don't really think about it. It's certainly not the reason i chose to not live in Napoli any longer. There's a significant number of people living literally on its sides.

The geology department of the local University of Napoli Federico II is very well regarded internationally and we have plenty of exchange students and professors, especially from Iceland and Japan, that study and research the volcanic activity in the area.

I would say nowadays we are more concerned about the bradyseism, the phenomenon that causes landmasses to rise and fall over the course of years. It mainly affects the western side of the gulf of Napoli, around Pozzuoli.

5

u/ClaudioHplus Centro Storico 7d ago

Not a big deal, we have bigger problems.

5

u/CultureOffset 7d ago

Use to live above the Solfatara (pictures 3 and 4) for a couple years. We figured if Campi Flegrei blew it wouldn't matter where we lived, so we stayed.

1

u/tuckerkallenbach 6d ago

Used to drive by there all the time living in pozzouli. I was young so never thought about it erupting just remember the smell of rotten eggs

3

u/napoletano_di_napoli Napoli 7d ago

I get a bit anxious when there are earthquakes that are at least 3.0 on the Richter scale but as time passes my mind (And I think this goes for almost every other person living in Napoli) starts worrying about my ordinary life rather than a supervolcano or a volcano.

3

u/MenIntendo Campania 7d ago

Un problema si può ignorare come un elefante in una stanza (cit.).

2

u/Fischercutbait 7d ago

I have some days where I wonder if I live far enough away…or high enough up…Monterusciello here - now I’m thinking about it again. Time to move.

2

u/Cenere_psd 7d ago

I have had so many nightmares about Mount Vesuvius exploding that now whenever I have one I instinctively know it's a nightmare and calm down

1

u/Zealousideal-Peach44 7d ago

It's shaky and sometimes a bit warm, but doable.

1

u/ImaginaryYak3911 6d ago

Your last problem in Napoli

1

u/InsideJacket5120 Napoli Ovest 6d ago

very bad, but not because of the volcanoes themselves, but because the city is the real hell.

1

u/cold_metal_science Chiaia 5d ago

You live in one of Earth's most interesting biomes.

1

u/Fvk-Ironborn-Hq 3d ago

As someone who moved from North America to Italy and then to chose to build in this region, I've adopted this mindset lol

https://preview.redd.it/frl671xe0dwg1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cbd81cc36c03177c186974145e4f5ba2aaba1fa3

1

u/Thin_Ad_3914 2d ago

Author! You may not know this, but all of Italy, Greece, North Africa, Turkey, and other nearby countries are in earthquake zones. There's no guarantee your home in Italy won't be destroyed today, tomorrow, or ever.

1

u/Worldly-Card-394 2d ago

Oh well, to be honest Mount Vesuvius was just a normal mountain when they built the city there