In the 1st century AD, Pompeii was one of a number of towns located near the base of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius. The area had a substantial population which grew prosperous from the region’s renowned agricultural fertility. Many of Pompeii’s neighboring communities, most famously Herculaneum, also suffered damage or destruction during the 79 AD eruption. The eruption occurred on August 24, just one day after Vulcanalia, the festival of the Roman god of fire.
The danger today is that over 2 million people live near Vesuvius.There is an multi lane evacuation route build by the Italian government and that plan assumes that at least 600,000 people would need to be evacuated. It would take 72 hours and the evacuees will mostly be sent to other parts of Italy. But wait! Stinking mountains of waste lie piled up on the evacuation route. When asked to explain, the locals officials reply with just one word. “Camorra.”
This image was shot with a Canon EOS 1D Mark II with a Canon EF 17-40mm F4L Lens and edited in Lightroom 4.
Exposure and Other Worldly Morsels 