The population of the so-called “red zone” around the southern Italian port city of Pozzuoli, near Naples, has not slept well for a long time: for months, the earth in the Phlegrean Fields has been shaking dozens of times a day – often barely noticeable , but occasionally in a relatively violent way, like three weeks ago. The reason: there is a supervolcano roaring beneath the “Campi Flegrei” – in German “burning fields”. Hot gases and water vapor are pushing the surface of the so-called “caldera”, the volcanic cauldron, higher and higher – now 15 millimeters per month, and the trend is increasing. This creates enormous stresses that are released in earthquakes. The floor has been raised by two meters in total since 2006. This is 20 centimeters more than during the last “critical situation” forty years ago.
