page_title: Ercolano
section_title: Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio
hierarchical_section_title: Ercolano / Main landmarks / Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Il cratere del Vesuvio English: The crater of Mt. Vesuvius
context_page_description: Ercolano is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania of Southern Italy. It lies at the western foot of Mount Vesuvius, on the Bay of Naples, just southeast of the city of Naples. The medieval town of Resina was built on the volcanic material left by the eruption of Vesuvius that destroyed the ancient city of Herculaneum, from which the present name is derived. Ercolano is a resort and the starting point for excursions to the excavations of Herculaneum and for the ascent of Vesuvius by bus. The town also manufactures leather goods, buttons, glass, and the wine known as Lacryma Christi.
context_section_description: The National Park of Mt. Vesuvius was created in 1995 by the Italian Government by establishing the Ente Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio, the body in charge of it. It includes Mt. Vesuvius and surrounding Monte Somma, that is what remains of the original larger volcano after the eruption that buried Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabiae and Oplontis in AD 79. It is the smallest National Park in Italy and one of the smallest in the world but it is very important due to the presence of the most famous volcano in the world.
  In 1997 Mt. Vesuvius as Somma-Vesuvio was included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves under the Unesco's Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme together with the Miglio d'Oro area.
  Ecolano is one of the 13 towns that have their territory (or part of it) included in the area of the Park. From Ercolano starts the main street heading to the Gran Cono (12 km from town centre) where visitors can ascend on foot along a panoramic path up to the edge of the huge crater where some fumarole can be seen.
  Alongside the first leg of Via Osservatorio are displayed ten stone statues of the permanent exhibition Creator Vesevo that were made in 2005 by as many different international artists.
  According to the organization of Ente Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio, some paths in the woods around the Gran Cono are accessible.
  From via Osservatorio it's possible to reach the historic Osservatorio Vesuviano, that was founded in 1845 by the King Ferdinando II of Bourbon and was the first centre for volcanic studies and monitoring in the world. The visits have to be agreed with the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica of Naples.
caption: The crater of Mt.Vesuvius
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