Interesting Facts about Mt. Vesuvius You Should Know
Nov 17, 2020
Mount Vesuvius, in Campania, Italy, defines the whole region. You have to see it to believe it.
At Cantina del Vesuvio, we’ve been tending vines on the foothills of the active volcano for decades. Not a day goes by without us being swooned by the beauty and the imposing personality of the mountain.
It’s thanks to the steep volcanic soils that we make beautiful wine, and we take great care in making sure we treat the earth with a conscious mind. We want future generations to find this fantastic terroir just as we found it.
Because we’re so intimately bound with the moody volcano, we’d thought we’d share with you some interesting facts about Mount Vesuvius.
The Mount Vesuvius is quite active
Starting with the famous eruption in 79 AD that swept the city of Pompeii (the town was 8 kilometers from the volcano) Vesuvius has erupted over 40 times, the last one in 1944.
Some have been explosive outbursts, and others have been less destructive, but there’s no doubt the mountain has an active personality. The last time Mount Vesuvius erupted; we were in the middle of WWII.
Despite the volcano’s activity, it is perfectly safe today to visit the area and the many picturesque towns surrounding Vesuvius, including Naples, the birthplace of pizza.
Mount Vesuvius is not one, but two volcanoes.
Mount Vesuvius is an amalgam of two volcanoes: Vesuvius and Mount Somma. Although one and the same, it is easy to see how two peaks crown the mountain. The large one is the Vesuvius, and the smaller one is Somma. The valley between the two craters is called, the Giant’s Valley.
Mount Vesuvius is a National Park
You can visit and trek the Vesuvius. There are several walking trails, and some take you close to the crater. The whole mountain is a UNESCO World Reserve. If you enjoy nature and trekking is your thing, you will fall in love with the landscape, and of course, the views.
Over 60,000 people from all over the world walk the verdant trails every year, and you can too!
Old, incredibly old vineyards
People have been growing wine grapes around the Vesuvius for over 2,500 years. According to Aristotle, the Thessalians planted vines in the area in the 5th century before Christ.
The wine from the region was famous, and when we say famous, we mean it, wine from the Vesuvius slopes was known in all corners of the Roman Empire. Today, in the same way, the wines are known all around the world.
Great value wines
Despite the wine region’s incredible history, and the rarity of the volcanic soils, wine from the Vesuvio was granted its Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) fairly recently, in 1983. The wines are made with native grapes (some of them only found in the region) and many family-owned wineries have been working the land for generations.
The high-quality wines from Vesuvio are some of the better-known in the country, and they are superb!
The legend, the land and the people
Mount Vesuvius is larger than life, it is so famous that millions of people pay their respects to the volcano, either by visiting or by enjoying the wines made from the volcanic grapes.
Cantina del Vesuvio is a proud ambassador for such prestigious terroir and waits for you with open arms to taste the region’s wine at the very foothills of the awe-inspiring volcano.