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Abstract

By the late eighteenth century, Vesuvius was firmly established as an attraction for Grand Tourists who had made it as far as Naples. At any time of the year, Vesuvius was in reach for a day or night trip from Naples, so it features prominently in written and visual records of observers and visitors. But to what extent were these records either faithful to what was happening at the volcano; or simply curated for particular audiences? Using travellers’ letters, diaries and sketch books, we explore descriptions and depictions of phenomena at Vesuvius in the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. Some common themes, both textual and visual, are influenced by the social and cultural setting: whether through deference to authoritative voices, or to meet the expectations of the recipient. In contrast, as other themes emerged as phenomena that were intimately linked to Vesuvius, or to its physical state, these contributed to the narrative ‘natural history’ of the volcano, the search for an understanding of their causes, and the emergence of volcanology as a discipline.