Several are the myths and legends that have long hovered around the grandiose grandeur of the Vesuvius. This volcano, so majestic and frightening, has been the talk of the town, inspiring stories and tales, mythologies, legends, and characters, taking on, over time, both a positive and mild role and a sense of impetuous destructive and malignant force.

The Myth of the Gods on Vesuvius

At the time of the ancients, Vesuvius, appeared as a very high mountain (higher than it is today after being shaped by exogenous agents), verdant and isolated bathed by the waters of the sea. This led the Latins to believe that Mount Vesuvius was actually the home of Zeus and the gods, what Mount Olympus was to the Greeks. 

Others, however, referred to it as "volcano Vesuvinum" associating it with the God Bacchus because of the cultivation of wine vines with which, even at that time, this drink was produced. Confirming this, wine amphorae that have been found in the excavations of Pompeii bear the inscription "vesvinum" or "vesuvinum."

Why "of the gods" and not "gods"? Usually in front of a consonant the article "i" should be used but the word dei comes from iddei so it wanted the article gli which then remained as such despite the dropping of the i.

The infernal Vesuvius

However, following the grand historical eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D., people associated the volcano with the mouth of Hell and the home of the Devil. This was the time when, the very high and flourishing mountain took on a completely frightening and negative aspect.

It was from this association of Hell and evil that the legend of Punchinello's birth was born. According to this belief, Pulcinella, was born from an egg that suddenly popped up on the mouth of Vesuvius, at the behest of Pluto, God of the underworld and the dead following the request of two Neapolitan sorceresses. These had asked the god to give them a savior who would heal the city's conditions of injustice and malaise.

During the apocalyptic eruption of 1631, the people of Naples relied on their Patron Saint, namely St. Gennaro. Thus, the archbishop decided to bring out the statue of the Patron Saint in procession. Its blood liquefied (a positive omen) and the wrath of the eruption was appeased, which stopped altogether.

The legends of Vesuvian loves. 

Then there could be no shortage of love legends. 

Indeed, the story is told of the sea nymph Leucopetra, who was loved and contended for love between two men-Vesevo and Sebeto. One day it is told that while the nymph was intent on collecting shells on the seashore the two men, launched themselves at her with the intention of wanting to abduct her. She plunged into the sea and turned into a rock, making herself safe. The two men, on the other hand, had different fates: Vesevo turned into stone and grew from rage until he exploded with passion in the form of lava; Sebeto, on the other hand, wept so much that he turned into a river that bathed the lands of Neapolis until it dried up.

Another legend, however, tells of the love story between a young nobleman from the Vesuvio family and a beautiful maiden from the Capri family. Their bond was so deep and sweet that the two were inseparable. The families, however, were rivals and could not allow this union. So one day the maiden's parents forced her to embark off the coast of Naples. She, however, could not bear to part with her beloved and, diving into the sea, drowned. When the young man learned of his companion's death, he began to shed tears of fire and turned into the volcano Vesuvius. Where the maiden had drowned, however, the beautiful island of Capri popped up.

The sorceress Amelia 

The sorceress Amelia, a fictional Disney character invented by Carl Basks in 1961, lives in a little house on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. The American designer created her, inspired by the Mediterranean beauty of Sophia Loren, enriched by the charm of Morticia from The Addams Family, but always preserving the timeless Neapolitan accent. 

Stories of volcanic magic

It is said that the birth of Vesuvius, was an accident caused by the most powerful Wizard Naples had ever known. He lived on a Mount that towered over the entire Bay of Naples and watched over the city from there. But his unchallenged power could not spread as far as he would have liked because the Wizard could not move: in fact, his leg was stuck between the rocks and he could not expand his boundaries. One day the Earth trembled and the Wizard was finally able to pull out his leg. In doing so, however, he accidentally opened a chasm from which fire and lava leaked out.

Another legend belongs to Abbot Desiderius. The latter writes about a Neapolitan friar who lived as a hermit on the slopes of Vesuvius. On a full moon night, he noticed two figures carrying a large bale of hay to the volcano. Intrigued, the friar went to the two men to ask for an explanation, and the two answered him, matter-of-factly, that the hay would fuel the volcano's flames, which in return would eliminate all rich and evil men. In particular, the two wanted the death of the Duke of Naples, John, and the Prince of Capua, Pandolfo. The friar then rushed to warn Duke John who, in turn, sent emissaries to Prince Pandolfo. By the time the two messengers arrived, the Prince was dead, and after a short time the same fate befell the Duke.