Mount Vesuvius is a volcanic mountain in the Campania region of Italy, overshadowing the Bay of Naples.

Mount Vesuvius is perhaps best known for its eruption in Roman times (24 August 79 AD), described by Pliny the Younger, when Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed. The eruption left a large crater that can still be visited today. It is a dormant volcano that occasionally emits streams of lava (last minor eruption in the 1950s; although its dormant state could be an indication of a build-up of pressure and a coming explosive eruption). 

At the top of the volcano is a crater rim that affords a view into the crater that still fumes slightly. Besides that you will have (only on clear days, but the mountain is notoriously covered in fog or clouds) a stunning panorama overseeing the Bay of Naples, Naples, Capri, Ischia, the edge of the Amalfi Coast and the green Irpinian Mountains.

- Wikivoyage