Vesuvius is best known for its eruption of AD79, which destroyed the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Hundreds of people reach the rim of its enormous crater each day, walking up a trail on the western flank which is described by one walking guide as “challenging”.
Mt Vesuvius National Park consists of 50 square miles of wilderness amid the sprawl of Naples and its satellite towns.
The volcano last erupted in 1944.
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