Mount Somma ( it, Monte Somma) is a mountain located in the

Province of Naples The Province of Naples ( it, Provincia di Napoli; nap, Pruvincia 'e Nàpule) was a province in the Campania region of southern Italy. In 2014/2015, the reform of local authorities (Law 142/1990 and Law 56/2014), replaced the Province of Naples ...

, in the

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

region of southern Italy. Mount Somma is an integral part of the Somma–Vesuvius volcanic complex. It is high.

Geography

Mount Somma is the remnant of a large volcano, out of which the peak cone of

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

has grown. Mount Somma appears to be spread in a semicircle around the north and northeast of Vesuvius. Vesuvius's formation began during the

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

collapse of Mount Somma. Approaching Mount Somma from the east, four ridges are encountered: * Cognoli di Trocchia () * Cognoli di Sant'Anastasia () * Punta del Nasone () * Cognoli di Ottaviano ()

Punta del Nasone

The highest point of Mount Somma, at , is called "Punta del Nasone" (literally "tip of the big nose") because of its similarity with a nose covered in the profile of a face lying along the top of the mountain and probably also referring to King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, popularly known as "Re Nasone" ("Big Nose King"). This similarity can be seen by looking at Mount Somma from Vesuvius's peak while Ferdinand I is well known himself for the advanced approach he had to Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex, giving support to geological research and improvement of the area.

Lava flows of 1944

In March 1944, a spectacular lava flow interrupted the north outline of the mountain down to the towns of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio and Massa di Somma. A hiking trail (no. 9 in the numbering of the

Vesuvius National Park Vesuvius National Park ( it, Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio) is an Italian national park centered on the active volcano Vesuvius, southeast from Naples. The park was founded on June 5, 1995, and covers an area of around 135 square kilometers all lo ...

) allows visitors to cross the entire flow at a width of almost .

Olivella

Olivella is a village just over north of Mount Somma, in the territory of the municipality of

Sant'Anastasia Sant'Anastasia ( nap, Santa Nastàsë) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples. Sant'Anastasia borders the following municipalities: Casalnuovo di Napol ...

. It looks like a

natural amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

on top of which is located the Olivella spring; a short distance from the outlet is a stone arch that was part of an aqueduct, built in the time of King Ferdinand I to convey water to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

History

The first evidence of volcanic activity in this area dates back 400,000 years. Still, the first major eruptive phenomenon of some significance occurred about 25,000 years ago: the eruption of the

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular v ...

base when the top of the Somma–Vesuvius volcano collapsed, forming a

, which was later formed

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

. Today's Mount Somma is only the caldera on the northern side.

Tourism

Since 1995, Mount Somma has been part of the

. {{Authority control

Somma A somma volcano (also known as a sommian) is a volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone. The name comes from Mount Somma, a stratovolcano in southern Italy with a summit caldera in which the upper cone of Mount Ves ...

Mount Vesuvius

Geological type localities