The last eruption of Mount Vesuvius

The Mount Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii in 79AD is well known, but far fewer people know about the last time the volcano erupted in 1944. It was World War Two, and families in southern Italy had already lived through a German invasion, air bombardment, and surrender to the Allies. And then at 16:30 on 18 March, Vesuvius erupted. The sky filled with violent explosions of rock and ash, and burning lava flowed down the slopes, devastating villages. By the time it was over, 11 days later, 26 people had died and about 12,000 people were forced to leave their homes. Angelina Formisano, who was nine, was among those evacuated from the village of San Sebastiano. She’s been speaking to Jane Wilkinson about being in the path of an erupting volcano. (Photo: Vesuvius erupting in March 1944. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

You can listen to The last eruption of Mount Vesuvius online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The last eruption of Mount Vesuvius is an episode from Witness: World War 2 Collection by BBC.

This episode is 9:15 long.

This episode was published on Mar 15, 2024.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Witness: World War 2 Collection when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.