Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei Volcano Webcam in Real Time
Naples' Volcanic Duo: Two Giants on One Map
Naples is one of the few cities on the planet situated in the shadow of two volcanic systems at once. Vesuvius, whose silhouette every schoolchild recognizes, and Campi Flegrei—a vast caldera hidden beneath urban development—together form one of the most studied and potentially dangerous volcanic regions in the world. The live webcam with a view of both volcanoes allows real-time monitoring of the seismic situation in a region home to over three million people.
The camera broadcasts a monitoring dashboard—not a landscape, but a working tool for seismologists. The screen displays a regional map with earthquake epicenters, magnitude graphs, seismograms, and tables of recent seismic events. It is a window into a laboratory where the breath of two volcanoes is tracked around the clock.
Campi Flegrei — Europe's Largest Active Caldera
Campi Flegrei, or the Phlegraean Fields, is not a single volcano but an extensive volcanic caldera about 30 kilometers in diameter. Its history began with a catastrophe: the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption around 39,000 years ago was the largest volcanic event in Europe for at least the last 200,000 years (VEI 7). This event left a trace in geological deposits from Italy to Russia and, according to some hypotheses, influenced the climate of an entire continent.
After the Campanian Ignimbrite came the Tufo Giallo Napoletano eruption 15,000 years ago, followed by at least 70 intra-caldera eruptions. The last confirmed eruption of Campi Flegrei occurred in 1538—it lasted about a week and led to the formation of Monte Nuovo hill. Since then, the caldera has been "sleeping" but not silent: bradyseismic phenomena—periodic rises and falls of the ground—are constantly recorded.
Vesuvius: The Only Active Volcano in Mainland Europe
If Campi Flegrei is a sleeping giant, then Vesuvius is an active volcano with a confirmed history of eruptions in historical times. The most destructive eruption of Vesuvius occurred in 79 AD and destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, burying them under a layer of ash and pyroclastic flows. Since then, the volcano has erupted dozens of times.
The last eruption of Vesuvius occurred on March 17, 1944—making it the only volcano on mainland Europe to have erupted in the last 100 years. At that time, lava flows destroyed the villages of San Sebastiano and Massa di Somma, and ash fell even on the territory of Naples itself. Today, Vesuvius is in a state of rest, but its crater continues to emit sulfurous gases, reminding us that the calm is temporary.
How Real-Time Volcano Monitoring Works
The Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) maintains continuous monitoring of both volcanic systems. INGV monitors seismic activity using a network of seismic stations, including autonomous stations, seismic arrays, as well as satellite remote sensing methods (InSAR), gravimetric observations, and geochemical monitoring of diffuse degassing.
Data flows in real time to the INGV operational center in Naples. Seismograms are updated continuously, recording even micro-earthquakes imperceptible to humans. InSAR satellite data allows measuring ground deformations with millimeter precision—this is how scientists track bradyseismic uplifts in Campi Flegrei.
During a bradyseismic event in Campi Flegrei, seismicity, ground deformations, and geochemical variations demonstrate absolutely coincident temporal dynamics—this is a key indicator of volcanic instability that is analyzed around the clock.
Seismic Activity: What the Camera Shows
The webcam broadcasts a monitoring dashboard displaying a regional map with marked earthquake epicenters. Colored circles of different sizes indicate the magnitude of seismic events—from microscopic ones recorded only by instruments to those felt by residents of Pozzuoli and Bacoli.
Magnitude-versus-time graphs for the last 40 days allow assessment of the trend: whether seismic activity is increasing or decreasing. Three-dimensional diagrams of earthquake distribution by depth and coordinates help seismologists understand whether the tremors occur in the crust above the magmatic chamber or in deeper layers.
Tables with data on recent seismic events contain the magnitude, date, time, depth, and coordinates of each tremor. This information is updated in real time and is available to anyone monitoring the situation via the online camera.
Danger to the Population: The Red Zone and Evacuation Plans
Volcanic danger in the Naples area is not a theoretical abstraction but a practical task for civil protection. The "red zone" (zona rossa) of Campi Flegrei is the area of highest volcanic risk, where 500,000 people would need to be evacuated within 72 hours in the event of an eruption.
The dense development of the Phlegraean Fields makes this task extremely challenging. The cities of Pozzuoli, Bacoli, Monte Giordano, and Chiano are located directly inside the caldera. The roads along which evacuation traffic must flow are already overloaded on normal days. The evacuation plan provides for dividing the zones into sectors and a phased withdrawal of the population, but the realism of these plans raises questions among experts.
Vesuvius is included in the list of "Decade Volcanoes" because about 3,000,000 people live in its vicinity. The red zone of Vesuvius covers 18 municipalities where about 600,000 people live. In the event of an eruption, they would need to be evacuated within days.
Current Status: Yellow Alert Level
Currently, Campi Flegrei is at a "yellow" alert level according to the emergency action plan of the Italian Civil Protection Department. This means the volcanic system is showing signs of instability—increased seismicity, ground deformations, changes in the composition of fumarolic gases—but an eruption is still far off.
Vesuvius, on the other hand, is in a state of rest. Its last eruption in 1944 was moderate in scale, and since then the volcano has shown no active signs. However, Vesuvius' calm is deceptive: history shows that periods of quiet can last for decades, followed by sudden and destructive eruptions.
Visible signs of volcanic activity at Campi Flegrei include fumarolic activity (Solfatara), bradyseismic uplift/subsidence, increased seismicity, and geochemical changes. Vesuvius currently shows no active visible signs besides normal gas emissions from the crater.
Why Campi Flegrei Is More Dangerous Than Vesuvius
At first glance, Vesuvius seems more menacing—its history of catastrophic eruptions is well documented. However, in terms of modern risk, Campi Flegrei presents a more complex problem. Campi Flegrei is a large volcanic caldera about 30 km across, while Vesuvius is a stratovolcano; Campi Flegrei poses a higher risk due to the dense development of the territory by millions of residents and the potential for a super-eruption.
The Campi Flegrei caldera is hidden beneath urban development—its boundaries are not obvious to the average observer. People live directly above the magmatic chamber, not always realizing the scale of the threat. Bradyseismic events, raising the ground level by meters over years, have repeatedly caused evacuations and panic.
The potential for a super-eruption of Campi Flegrei—an event on the scale of the Campanian Ignimbrite—makes this caldera an object of close attention from volcanologists worldwide. Although the probability of such an event in the foreseeable future is extremely low, its consequences would be catastrophic for all of Europe.
What You Can See on the Camera
The online camera broadcasts a monitoring dashboard of seismic and volcanic activity in the Campi Flegrei and Vesuvius volcano area. The screen displays a regional map with marked earthquake epicenters—colored circles of different sizes indicate the magnitude of each event. Magnitude-versus-time graphs for the last 40 days allow assessment of seismic activity dynamics.
Three-dimensional diagrams of earthquake distribution by depth and coordinates help visualize exactly where the tremors occur—in the crust above the magmatic chamber or in deeper layers. Real-time seismograms show ground vibrations recorded by INGV seismic stations. Tables with data on recent seismic events contain the magnitude, date, time, depth, and coordinates.
This webcam is not just a broadcast, but a working monitoring tool. It allows scientists, journalists, and simply interested individuals to monitor the state of Naples' two volcanic systems in real time, without leaving home.
