August 24, 79 AD, was the date when Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii.
The citizens were warned by years of occasional small tremors.
But because nothing yet happened they learned to ignore these warning signs.
When Vesuvius showed even more activity the days before it would erupt, Pompeii was celebrating the festival of Vulcanalia, honoring the Roman god of fire and volcanoes.
The activity of Vesuvius was cheered as a positive sign that Vulcanos approved of the celebrations.
And they were indeed right..
This festival would go down in history!
This volcano in the South of Italy is most well known for the destruction of Pompeii.
This got Vesuvius somewhat of a bad reputation.
Vesuvius only erupts violently once every few decades and sometimes there are even a whole few centuries apart.
You just don’t want to be anywhere near when that happens.
Otherwise, Vesuvius is just a warm hearted mountain who just occasionally needs to blow off some steam.
#VesuviusDay
Sources: