2772 ITALY (Campania) - Mount Vesuvius

2772 Vesuvius in 1941

Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, about 9km east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc, and consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier much higher structure. It is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and several other settlements. Vesuvius has erupted many times since and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years.

0681 ITALY (Campania) - Historic Centre of Naples (UNESCO WHS)

Naples is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world, Greek settlements being established there in the second millennium BC. Subsequent the city named Neápolis played a key role in the merging of Greek culture into Roman society. Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire recaptured the city from the Ostrogoths, keeping them, with little interruption, until the early 9th century, when it gained the independence. In 1137 the Duchy of Naples came under Norman control, joining with the Kingdom of Sicily, which in 1197 went to the German House of Hohenstaufens. Becoming King of Sicily in 1266, the Angevin duke Charles I moved the capital from Palermo to Naples. In 1282 the Kingdom of Sicily was split in half and Naples served as the capital city of the Kingdom of Naples until 1816. Thereafter, in union with Sicily, it became the capital of the Two Sicilies until the unification of Italy in 1861.