The presence of three active volcanoes (Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei and Ischia Island) along the coast of Naples did not constrained the huge expansion of the urbanized zones around them. On the contrary, since Greek-Roman era, volcanoes have been an attractor for people who colonized Campania region. Stable settlements around Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei caldera and the Island of Ischia were
... [Show full abstract] progressively enlarged, reaching the maximum growth-rate between 1950 and 1980. Between 1982 and 1984, Neapolitan people faced the last and most dramatic volcanic crises, occurred at Campi Flegrei (Pozzuoli), without an eruption. Since that time, volcanologists have focused the attention on the problem of risk associated to eruptions in Neapolitan area, but a systematic strategy to reduce the very high volcanic risk of this area still lacks. A brief history of volcanic risk in Neapolitan district is here reported, trying to obtain new food for thought for the scientific community which works to the mitigation of volcanic risk of this area.