All of the descriptions of the pictures from the Solfatara were distilled from the informative signs that help to guide visitors as they make their way through the park.  I share with you my first-hand experience.

    The Solfatara, is a dormant volcano located in the middle of one of the most populous areas in the world. It is known by the ancient Romans as the mythical entrance to the Hell (one of many entrances!  It seems that hell was quite a popular place with the Romans!), is an inactive volcano.  It is part of the volcanic region known as the Phlegrean Fields.  It is famous for its steaming jets of sulfurous vapor (at temperatures of 320 F/160 C), the emission of carbonic anidride and small volcanoes of boiling mud.  Sulfur was extracted here in the past, and until 1800 it was a spa renowned for its mineral waters, natural saunas and mud. 

    The Solfatara is the epicenter of the cyclic phenomenon of the rising and lowering of the ground level in the Phlegrean Fields known as bradisism.