Notes

1. The city and people of Pompeii did not know that Vesuvius was a volcano, as it hadn’t erupted in 1,800 years

2. It was estimated that just over 13% of the total population of Pompeii died in the initial blast. A population of around 15,000 people and an estimated 2,000 died.

3. The rich volcanic soil from earlier eruptions of Vesuvius created prime farmland for grapes and olive trees.

4. Pompeii is so well preserved because the city was buried so quickly by volcanic ash and it now provides snapshots of past life in a Roman city.

5. Pliny described the eruption as follows, “It resembled a (Mediterranean) pine more than any other tree. Like a very high tree, the cloud went high and expanded in different branches….sometimes white, sometimes dark and stained by the sustained sand and ashes.”

6. Volcano derives from the word Vulcan - the Roman God of the Flame and Metal Forgery.

7. At a height of 1,281 metres high and estimated age of 17,000 years, it's said that Mount Vesuvius has erupted over 50 times.

8. Mount Vesuvius. actually has two craters, one which was the original crater and another crater created when the top of the mountain caved in during a previous eruption.

9. The pyroclastic flows from the eruption can move at 450mph / 724 km/h with temperatures reaching as high as 1,830°F or 999°C.

10. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD over the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum spewed 1.5 million tons of lava per second.

11. Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano on mainland Europe and is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.

12. Mount Vesuvius erupted six times in the 18th century, eight times in the 19th century and in 1906, 1929 and 1944. There has been no eruption since 1944.

13. The Catastrophic eruption on the 24th, August 79 AD was said to have lasted more than 24 hours.

14. The last eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred in 1944, during the height of the Second World War, destroying U.S. bomber planes stationed a few kilometres away. A long period of calm usually means an eruption may happen soon.

15. Over 3 million people live in the immediate area of Mount Vesuvius. More people live dangerously close to it than to any other volcano anywhere in the world.