If it were to erupt again, the lava and ashes produced by the explosion would be absorbed by the 500m (1,640ft) of water above the seamount there's little risk that the fiery belch could ever reach the land or harm local populations. This does not, of course, preclude a more dramatic return to life in the future Marsili may simply be dozing. Today, its activity is limited to gentle rumblings, with gaseous emissions and low-energy tremors, Ventura says. According to these findings, the volcano's last eruption occurred a few thousand years ago. If knowledge of the existence of Marsili was a long time coming, the emergence of scientific research into its activity is even more recent – with detailed studies only appearing in the 2000s. The Mediterranean's short-lived Atlantis.They named it after the polymath Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (1658-1730), who, among many other achievements, wrote the first treatise on hydrography. As a result of these efforts, cartographers finally identified the seamount in the 1920s. This was driven, in part, by the military's increasing use of submarines, and the world's new international communication systems, which required telegraph cables to be draped along the seabed. "It was only in the early 20th Century that people started to map the sea basins," says Ventura. Thanks to its depth beneath the sea, this potential time-bomb lurking on south Italy's ocean floor was only discovered 100 years ago. According to some recent models, its activity could potentially trigger an enormous tsunami, with a 30m-high (98ft) wave hitting Calabrian and Sicilian coasts. Scientists have known of Marsili's existence for a century, but it is only within the last decade that they have started to investigate the dangers that Marsili might pose – and their findings are concerning. You won't ever see it, however, since its peak is 500m (1,640ft) under water, in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the largest active volcano in the whole of Europe. With a height of 3,000m (9,800ft), and a base 70km long by 30km wide (43 by 19 miles), Marsili is a true giant. Its name is Marsili, and it is located around 175km (110 miles) south of Naples. Yet there is another monster that could wreak havoc to the southern peninsula and its islands.
When we think of Italy's volcanoes, we may assume that Etna, which overshadows Sicily, and Vesuvius, which famously destroyed Pompei, present the biggest danger to the peninsula's population and tourists.
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