Hmm, I've seen the result of it, but I'm not too sure how good it would have been to see it - it did after all kill hundreds of people when it erupted and if you're close enough to see it then chances are you're going to be dead pretty quickly also as it did leave destruction for quite a large radius.

Maybe from a distance...

Certainly a fascinating and important historical event, but considering the outcome I would want to avoid being there at all. . .

Today is August 24. On this date in history, in 79, the volcano, Mount Vesuvius, in Italy, erupted eventually burying the Roman towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae.

Roman philosopher, Pliny the Younger, witnessed the eruption and wrote an account. His uncle, Pliny the Elder, was a military commander in the area. He sailed into the Bay of Naples and lost his life at Stabiae.

The volcano has erupted about three dozen times since 79, three times in the 20th Century, and about three million people live in its area today. This is an extremely dangerous situation as the volcano has such explosive eruptions. The volcano is only about six miles from the city of Naples, Italy!

Volcanic soil is extremely fertile and people cluster around volcanoes because of this.

The last eruption was in 1944.

Read more about Vesuvius at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vesuvius

It would have been interesting to have witnessed one of the largest disasters in ancient history, from a long distance that is! I went to Pompeii a few years ago and its fascinating to see how well preserved that city was under the ash which the sudden eruption of Mt. Vesuvius caused. Artwork, pottery, bathhouses and even people were buried under the ash in what became an airtight time capsule, only to be re-discovered and uncovered after nearly 1900 years.

Only from far away and through a telescope. Things got pretty hot in town.

I could do that but from a distance

Yes and no. While it must have been a sight to see, the reality of seeing people burning in lava and encased in ash would be too much for me to handle.

I would like to have seen Pompeii and Herculaneum before they were destroyed. The eruption itself... I don't think so. That would be a terrible thing to watch.

While I wouldn't want to see people being buried, it would still be fascinating to see Mt. Vesuvius erupt. I've been captivated by that story ever since I was a child.

From a safe distance, oh yes.