Page 9 - Italian-American Herald - October 2024

HISTORY
ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
OCTOBER2024 | ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM 9
Macellum of Pozzuoli, the column-studded ruins of an ancient market, have risen and fallen as volcanic activity Aerial view of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1944 photographed has alternately lifted or depressed the earth beneath its foundations. | WIKIMEDIA PHOTO BY NORBERT NAGEL by Jack Reinhardt, B-24 tail gunner in the U..S. Army Air Force
roads many locals fear aren’t equipped to handle the traffic.
In 2023 Campi Flegrei recorded more than 3,450 earthquakes, 1,118 of which occurred in August alone. There is no indication of a sudden rise in magma that could signal an imminent eruption. In May 2023 tourists, residents and the inmates of a women’s prison were moved to temporary shelter in the seaside town of Pozzuoli so
officials could better prepare for evacuation. Many residents, then and in the months after, have sustained damage to their homes and businesses from aftershocks and they too have been displaced.
Despite all the recent seismic activity, scientists say a new eruption is unlikely to happen in the near future, but officials want to be prepared. However, Giuseppe Mastrolorenzo, a senior researcher with
Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) is now publicly calling out the agency with a claim the danger is not being taken seriously.
In all these areas near or on the slopes of Italy’s active volcanoes people must go about their daily lives. Many have chosen to live near or on the slopes of volcanoes because of the fertile land and others have lived there for generations and could not imagine moving.
Some have emergency bags packed and ready to go and others could not imagine leaving their homes. One resident of Pozzuoli, Rossana Maurelli, 56, stated her family business, which sells ceramics, has had a drop in sales of over 60 percent. She recognizes the danger but can’t imagine ever leaving Pozzuoli. “We’re so in love with our land,” she said in an interview reported in The Washington Post on Aug. 24. IAH
during World War II. | WIKIMEDIA PHOTO
PIAZZA DELAWARE LUXURY COMPLEX COMING SOON
Rt. 273
95 South
95 North
Eagle Run Road