The crater of La Fossa di Vulcano, the tuff-cone currently active on the island (photo by G. De Astis).
Northern side of the Fossa di Vulcano seen from Lipari, with the external crater of La Forgia Vecchia visible centrally. Below, emerging from the sea, the lava platform of Vulcanello and in the background on the right the top of the scoria cone of Monte Saraceno (photo by G. De Astis).
Location and maximum height: Aeolian Islands Archipelago, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea; 38.404°N 14.962°E; M.Aria ≈500 m asl
Area: ≈21 km2
Volcano type: Volcanic complex or composite stratovolcano (?)
Prevailing eruption types: phreatomagmatic (Vulcanian), strombolian, effusive explosives
Prevailing phenomena: fumarolic emissions (La Fossa crater), hydrothermal emissions, low seismicity
Beginning of subaerial eruptive activity: ≈120.000 years
Last eruption: 1888-1890
Activity state: quiescent
The island of Vulcano, the southernmost of the Aeolian archipelago, was called Hiera by the Greeks who made it the seat of the forge of the God Hephaestus due to its frequent and well-known eruptive activity. In Roman times, that God who forged weapons for the other Gods inside the cone of La Fossa became Vulcan and that name, over the centuries, has become a universal term used for reliefs characterized by past or current volcanic activity and because of them, formed.
Over time, the island's eruptive activity has built at least three important volcanic edifices, partially destroyed by various caldera collapses. This alternation of intense epochs of activity and long periods of rest has given rise to a rather complex eruptive history and a morphology that reflects it. The first and oldest volcanic cone on the island is the "Primordial Volcano", truncated by the Piano caldera (photo 1). To the north is what remains of the building made up of coulèes and several orders of lava domes, called Lentia-Mastro Minico, which was largely destroyed by the last collapse of the Fossa caldera. The tuff cone of La Fossa (photo 2) grew inside this multi-phase caldera, the first activities of which would begin approximately 5500 years ago. The northernmost part of the island is made up of Vulcanello (photo 2), which the Roman chronicles assign to a submarine eruption that began in 126 BC The repeated eruptions of this new island, which occurred until the Middle Ages together or alternating with those of La Fossa have allowed the formation of the isthmus that from about 1550. united the two eruptive centres.
In recent centuries, volcanic activity has concentrated at the Fossa crater and the last eruption took place between August 3, 1888 and March 22, 1890. This eruption is the type event that led to the introduction of the term activity " vulcaniana": eruptions with very strong explosions, emission of dense clouds of ash and lava fragments in an almost solid state (Mercalli, 1907) with large bread crust bombs (launched in 88-90 not only in the crater area, but also up to the area now occupied by Vulcano Porto).
Since the last eruption, Vulcano has been in a state of intense degassing, which occurs from a fumarolic field of medium temperature (100°C