Italian volcanic crater hit by 4.2 earthquake near Naples

The volcanic field near Naples has been hit by its hardest trembles in four decades early on September 27.

As reported by ANSA, a 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Phlegraean volcanic field, with Italian authorities saying that it appears to have caused no damage.

It was one of more than 60 seismic events registered since the early hours of September 26, according to the Italian Geophysics and Volcanology Institute (INGV).

The Phlegraean Fields (Campi Flegrei) is an area of volcanic craters on the western outskirts of Naples that is under constant monitoring for the risk of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. It is not to be confused with Mount Vesuvius, a volcano also located on the outskirts of Naples but not directly linked to the field although it shares the main magma reservoir in 10 km (6 miles) depth with its larger neighbor.

Scientists believed for a long time that Mount Vesuvius to be the most dangerous volcano on the European mainland, according to Volcanic Springs. The volcano is infamous for having destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, but since the 1990s the craters on the Campi Flegrei (Burning Fields in Italian), which make up parts of a so-called supervolcano, are believed to possess a destruction potential that surpasses that of Mount Vesuvius by far.