About Mount Vesuvius: In 79 AD Vesuvius buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under metres of ash. Its most recent eruption was in 1944, during the Second World War. Millions of people now live in its shadow around Naples. About 3 million people live close to it today

Location: Near Naples, in southern Italy · Country: Italy · Height: About 1,281 m (4,203 ft) tall · Type: A stratovolcano a steep cone of ash and lava · Record: Buried the Roman city of Pompeii in 79 AD · Nature: A cone-shaped mountain over the Bay of Naples · Notable Feature: The only volcano on mainland Europe to erupt in the last 100 years · World Rank: One of the most famous volcanoes in the world