Mount Somma () is a mountain located in the

Province of Naples The province of Naples (; ) was a province in the Campania region of Italy. In 2014/2015, the reform of local authorities (Law 142/1990 and Law 56/2014), replaced the province of Naples with the Metropolitan City of Naples. Demographics The p ...

, in the

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

region of

southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. It is high. It is an integral part of the Somma–Vesuvius volcanic complex and of the larger

Campanian volcanic arc The Campanian volcanic arc is a volcanic arc that consists of a number of active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes in the Campania region of Italy. The Campanian volcanic arc centers on the bay of Naples and includes: * Mount Vesuvius: an active v ...

, which is known for its high levels of seismic and volcanic activity. The volcano is believed to have formed over 25,000 years ago. It has a collapsed

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

of an older volcano, with Mount Vesuvius rising up from the center. Despite the potential dangers associated with living near an active volcano, the Somma volcano and its surroundings are a popular tourist destination. The mountain lends its name to

somma volcano A somma volcano, also known as a sommian, is a volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone. The type is named after Mount Somma ("Summit"), a stratovolcano in southern Italy with a summit caldera in which the upper co ...

es, which have a cone rising from within an older caldera.

Geography

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

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, 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 several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

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

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 () 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 located within the Province of Nap ...

) 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 (; ) is a (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 Napoli, Ercolano, Pollena Trocchia, ...

. It looks like a natural amphitheatre 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 ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

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: an eruption of

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

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

in which

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, 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 several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

was later formed. Today's Mount Somma is the north rim remnant of that caldera.

Tourism

Since 1995, Mount Somma has been part of the

References

{{Authority control Somma Mount Vesuvius Somma Somma Geological type localities Volcanoes of Italy Stratovolcanoes of Italy