In December 1818, Percy and Mary Shelley lumbered up the slopes of Vesuvius on the backs of mules. (Mary's stepsister, Claire, opted for a chair carried on the shoulders of four men – and regretted it.) The poet's feelings at the summit as darkness fell were intense: he described it as “the most impressive expression of the energies of nature I ever saw”, second only to the beauty of the glaciers. The “horrible chaos” of liquid fire was followed by a painful torchlit descent to rest at the old hermitage on the slopes, amid the squabbling and song of their guides.
Cone rangers
Oct 26, 2023
4 minutes
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