Volcanoes by country

Italy

Volcanoes in Italy

Map, activity and eruption history

The Holocene catalogue of the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 13 volcanoes in Italy. This page brings together the map, report status, eruption history and the surroundings of every single volcano. None of them currently has a running eruption report.

Earthquakes · Italy
With a current report
None No current eruption report
Volcanoes in the catalogue
13
Documented eruptions
71
Highest volcano
3,357 mEtna
Last documented eruption
2026Etna

Map

Volcano map of Italy

Every volcano in the country with plate boundaries, air traffic within 50 km, airports and nuclear power plants. Earthquakes can be added on top.

Map layers

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Markers show the catalogue position of a volcano, not the extent of a hazard zone. Plate boundaries after Bird (2003), PB2002.

All volcanoes in Italy

Sorted by report status and elevation. Every entry opens the full volcano profile.

Volcano catalogue
  1. Etna No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    3,357 m
    Last eruption
    2026
    Eruptions
    8
  2. Vesuvius No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    1,281 m
    Last eruption
    1944
    Eruptions
    8
  3. Colli Albani No current eruption report
    Type
    Caldera
    Elevation
    949 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
    1
  4. Stromboli No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    924 m
    Last eruption
    2026
    Eruptions
    8
  5. Pantelleria No current eruption report
    Type
    Shield volcano
    Elevation
    836 m
    Last eruption
    1891
    Eruptions
    8
  6. Ischia No current eruption report
    Type
    Volcanic complex
    Elevation
    789 m
    Last eruption
    1302
    Eruptions
    8
  7. Lipari No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    590 m
    Last eruption
    1230
    Eruptions
    3
  8. Vulcano No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    500 m
    Last eruption
    1890
    Eruptions
    8
  9. Campi Flegrei No current eruption report
    Type
    Caldera
    Elevation
    458 m
    Last eruption
    1538
    Eruptions
    8
  10. Panarea No current eruption report
    Type
    Stratovolcano
    Elevation
    399 m
    Last eruption
    Not available
    Eruptions
  11. Campi Flegrei del Mar di Sicilia No current eruption report
    Type
    Volcanic field
    Elevation
    -8 m
    Last eruption
    1867
    Eruptions
    8
  12. Palinuro No current eruption report
    Type
    Compound volcano
    Elevation
    -70 m
    Last eruption
    8040 BCE
    Eruptions
    1
  13. Marsili No current eruption report
    Type
    Volcanic complex
    Elevation
    -779 m
    Last eruption
    1050 BCE
    Eruptions
    2

“Last eruption” is a catalogue record, not evidence of activity in progress.

Significant volcanic eruptions in Italy

Eruptions with fatalities, damage or high explosivity from the NOAA NCEI database of significant volcanic eruptions.

  1. 1169 Etna 16,000 Deaths Damage: extreme (25 million USD or more) Tsunami
  2. 1631 Vesuvius VEI 5 4,000 Deaths Damage: extreme (25 million USD or more) Tsunami
  3. 79 Vesuvius VEI 5 2,100 Deaths Tsunami
  4. 1794 Vesuvius VEI 3 400 Deaths Damage: severe (roughly 5–24 million USD)
  5. 1906 Vesuvius VEI 3 350 Deaths Tsunami
  6. 1843 Etna VEI 2 59 Deaths
  7. 141 BCE Etna 40 Deaths
  8. 1944 Vesuvius VEI 3 27 Deaths
  9. 1538 Campi Flegrei VEI 3 24 Deaths
  10. 1979 Etna VEI 3 9 Deaths
  11. 1872 Vesuvius VEI 3 9 Deaths
  12. 1873 Vesuvius 9 Deaths
  13. 1930 Stromboli VEI 3 6 Deaths Damage: moderate (roughly 1–5 million USD) Tsunami
  14. 1928 Etna VEI 1 5 Deaths
  15. 1919 Stromboli VEI 3 4 Deaths Damage: limited (below 1 million USD) 10 houses destroyed Tsunami
  16. 1682 Vesuvius VEI 3 4 Deaths
  17. 1805 Vesuvius VEI 2 4 Deaths
  18. 2017 Campi Flegrei 3 Deaths
  19. 1970 Campi Flegrei 3 Deaths Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)
  20. 1737 Vesuvius VEI 3 2 Deaths Damage: moderate (roughly 1–5 million USD)
  21. 1669 Etna VEI 3 2 Deaths
  22. 1987 Etna VEI 2 2 Deaths
  23. 1929 Etna VEI 1 2 Deaths
  24. 2001 Etna VEI 3 1 Deaths Damage: limited (below 1 million USD)

Explosivity of the documented eruptions

VEI · 48

VEI 0
3
VEI 1
9
VEI 2
13
VEI 3
18
VEI 4
4
VEI 5
1
VEI 6
0

The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) runs from 0 (effusive) to 8 (super-eruptive). Each step stands for roughly ten times the erupted mass.

Eruptions per century

1500–1599
2
1600–1699
1
1700–1799
2
1800–1899
23
1900–1999
5
2000–2099
8

Documented eruptions since 1500. Earlier centuries are recorded less completely, so a rise also reflects better observation.

Earthquakes near volcanoes – Italy

112 events in the last 30 days within 50 km of a volcano in Italy.

Earthquakes · Italy

Spatial proximity does not establish a volcanic origin. Many events in volcanic regions are tectonic.

Tectonic setting and volcano types

What the volcanic landscape of Italy is made of and which tectonic setting it sits in.

Tectonic setting

  • Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)10
  • Rift zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)2

Most common volcano types

  • Stratovolcano6
  • Caldera2
  • Volcanic complex2
  • Shield volcano1
  • Volcanic field1

Infrastructure within 100 km

Airports with scheduled service and nuclear power plant sites near a volcano in Italy.

Airports 10

  • Pantelleria Airport6.9 km · PNL
  • Ciampino–G. B. Pastine International Airport11.7 km · CIA
  • Naples International Airport13.5 km · NAP
  • Catania-Fontanarossa Airport31.8 km · CTA
  • Rome–Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci International Airport39.6 km · FCO
  • Salerno Costa d'Amalfi Airport46.6 km · QSR
  • Reggio Calabria Airport67.6 km · REG
  • Lamezia Terme Sant'Eufemia International Airport90.4 km · SUF
  • Comiso Airport90.5 km · CIY
  • Vincenzo Florio Airport Trapani-Birgi92.1 km · TPS

Nuclear power plants 2

  • Latina nuclear power plant37.5 km · Permanently shut down
  • Garigliano nuclear power plant54.3 km · Permanently shut down

This selection shows geographic proximity, not a hazard zone or confirmed impacts.

Volcanoes in profile – Italy

Short descriptions of the country's best-known volcanoes.

Etna

Stratovolcano · 3,357 m · Last eruption: 2026

Mount Etna, or simply Etna, is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina and Catania. It is located above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is one of the tallest active volcanoes in Europe, and the tallest peak in Italy south of the Alps with a current height of 3,403 m (11,165 ft), though this varies with summit eruptions. For instance, in 2021 the southeastern crater reached a height of 3,357 m (11,014 ft), but was then surpassed by the Voragine crater after the summer 2024 eruptions.

Vesuvius

Stratovolcano · 1,281 m · Last eruption: 1944

Mount Somma is a mountain located in the Province of Naples, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is 1,132 metres (3,714 ft) high. It is an integral part of the Somma–Vesuvius volcanic complex and of the larger Campanian volcanic arc, which is known for its high levels of seismic and volcanic activity.

Colli Albani

Caldera · 949 m · Last eruption: Not available

The Alban Hills are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Rome and about 24 km (15 mi) north of Anzio. The 950 m (3,120 ft) high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak in the centre of the caldera, but the highest point is Maschio delle Faete approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) to the east of Cavo and 6 m (20 ft) taller. There are subsidiary calderas along the rim of the Alban Hills that contain the lakes Albano and Nemi. The hills are composed of peperino, a variety of tuff that is useful for construction and provides a mineral-rich substrate for nearby vineyards.

Stromboli

Stratovolcano · 924 m · Last eruption: 2026

Stromboli is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing Mount Stromboli, one of the four active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the seven Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily, and the mythological home of Aeolus.

Pantelleria

Shield volcano · 836 m · Last eruption: 1891

Pantelleria, known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an island and comune (municipality) in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, 106 kilometres southwest of Sicily and 68 km (35 nmi) east of the Tunisian coast. Administratively, Pantelleria's comune belongs to the Province of Trapani in the autonomous island region of Sicily in southern Italy. It has 7,150 inhabitants.

Ischia

Volcanic complex · 789 m · Last eruption: 1302

Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about 30 kilometres from the city of Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Although inhabited since the Bronze Age, as a Greek emporium it was founded in the 8th or 9th century BCE, and known as Πιθηκοῦσαι, Pithekoūsai.

Short descriptions: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Frequently asked questions about volcanoes in Italy

How many volcanoes are there in Italy?
The Holocene catalogue of the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program lists 13 volcanoes in Italy. It covers volcanoes with eruptions during the last roughly 12,000 years.
Which volcano in Italy is the highest?
The highest recorded volcano is Etna at 3,357 m.
When was the last documented eruption in Italy?
The most recent eruption documented in the catalogue dates from 2026 (Etna).
Are the volcanoes in Italy active?
None of the 13 volcanoes currently has an eruption report. That does not mean they are extinct – source coverage differs from volcano to volcano.
Why does the map show aircraft around volcanoes?
Volcanic ash endangers aircraft engines. The map therefore shows live positions within 50 km of a volcano so that the proximity of air traffic to an active volcano becomes visible.
Where does the data on this page come from?
Catalogue data and eruption history from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, significant eruptions from NOAA NCEI, alert levels and bulletins from USGS, GeoNet and INGV, earthquakes from the QuakeMap24 database, flight positions from ADSB.lol.

Volcanoes in other countries

Countries with at least 5 volcanoes in the catalogue.

All countries with volcanoes

Sources and data dates

Everything shown comes from the public sources listed below and is updated automatically.

QuakeMap24 is not a warning authority. Follow the responsible authorities when making local decisions.