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Volcano Sicily in Italy

Volcanoes in Italy

With 4 volcanoes in Italy there have been a total of 50 significant eruptions over the past 2,000 years. Over 7,000 people were killed. The worst volcanic eruption in terms of deaths, destroyed houses and financial damages happened on 12/16/1631 with the eruption of "Vesuvius". Here, 4000 people died.

Out of 12 volcanos in Italy, 9 are considered still active. Additionally there are four active submarine volcanoes.

Other natural hazards in Italy:
› Earthquake
› Tsunamis
› The biggest earthquakes in recent times


Back to overview: Italy

Significant volcanic eruptions in Italy in the last 2000 years

Volcano Sicily in ItalyThe following list shows all volcanic eruptions of the last 2,000 years with significant damage. The column "VEI" stands for the volcano explosivity index, which represents the strength of the eruption from a geological point of view. This takes into account the height and volume of the rocks ejected. The scale ranges from 0-8, with the severity of the eruption increasing tenfold with each value. For example, a VEI of 1 means that the volcano throws lava and rock masses of 100,000 to 1 million cubic meters up to 1 kilometer high. From VEI 8, a volcano is considered a super volcano. Here, more than 1,000 cubic kilometers of tephra are thrown to altitudes of more than 25 kilometers.

The highest explosivity index in Italy reached in the review period was VEI 5 in 1631. The volcano Vesuvius threw tephramasses of at least 1 cubic kilometer over 25 kilometers high. Such a volcano normally only reaches this intensity every 50 years.

EruptionVolcanoVEIDeathsTotal damage
12/04/2022Stromboli20
10/09/2022Stromboli20
08/28/2019Stromboli20
07/03/2019Stromboli21
12/26/2018Etna20
09/12/2017Campi Flegrei03
09/12/2017Campi Flegrei03
12/30/2002Stromboli00
08/28/2002Etna30
10/20/2001Stromboli21
07/26/2001Etna20
05/14/2001Etna31
12/14/1991Etna20
04/17/1987Etna22
07/24/1986Stromboli21
12/19/1985Etna11
10/16/1984Etna31
03/17/1981Etna20
07/05/1979Etna29
03/02/1970Campi Flegrei03
08/20/1944Stromboli20
03/27/1944Vesuvius227
09/11/1930Stromboli35
08/02/1929Etna22
11/02/1928Etna15
05/22/1919Stromboli34
07/03/1916Stromboli30
04/04/1906Vesuvius3350
03/10/1905Vesuvius21
02/04/1879Stromboli20
01/01/1873Vesuvius09
04/24/1872Vesuvius39
11/17/1843Etna256
11/01/1832Etna20
05/01/1813Vesuvius20
08/11/1805Vesuvius24
06/15/1794Vesuvius3400
08/08/1779Vesuvius20
05/20/1737Vesuvius22
05/01/1698Vesuvius30
08/12/1682Vesuvius34
03/19/1669Etna32
03/11/1669Etna30
12/16/1631Vesuvius54000
09/29/1538Campi Flegrei324
03/23/1536Etna31
07/01/1329Etna10
06/28/1329Etna30
01/01/0787Vesuvius30
08/25/0079Vesuvius52100


All volcanoes in Italy

VolcanoElevationStatusLast eruption
Campi Flegrei458 mActive09/12/2017
Collie Evganel Group600 mSolfatara stage
Etna3290 mActive12/26/2018
Ischia789 mActive
Larderello210 mSolfatara stage
Lipari602 mPotentially active
Monte Amiata1738 mSolfatara stage
Mt.Cavo949 mPotentially active
Piano500 mActive
Roccamonfina1066 mActive
Stromboli926 mActive12/04/2022
Vesuvius1281 mActive03/27/1944



These statistics are based on datas from the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP), and the Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database of the National Geophysical Data Center (NOAA) / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) doi:10.7289/V5JW8BSH. Several data have been summarized and translated.
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