Evolution of the Vesuvius magmatic-hydrothermal system before the 16 December 1631 eruption

In a recently published manuscript [Guidoboni, E., Boschi, E., 2006. Vesuvius before the 1631 eruption, EOS, 87(40), 417 and 423]; [Guidoboni, E. (Ed.), 2006. Pirro Ligorio, Libro di diversi terremoti (1571), volume 28, codex Ja II 15, Archivio di Stato di Torino, Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Pirro Ligorio, Roma, De Luca, 261 pp], Pirro Ligorio gives a detailed description of the phenomena occurring in the crater area of Vesuvius volcano, in 1570–1571 and previous years. Here, these phenomena are interpreted as the first clearly documented signals of unrest of this volcanic system caused by the shallow emplacement of a magma batch and leading to the 1631 eruption. Our interpretation is mainly based on the present understanding of the fluid geochemistry of magmatic-hydrothermal systems. In this way, it is possible to conclude that: (i) incandescent rocks were present at the surface, with temperatures > 500 °C approximately and (ii) either a magmatic-dominated or a magmatic-hydrothermal-type of conceptual geochemical model applies to Vesuvius in 1570–1571 and preceding years.The Ligorio's picture represents the first clear evidence that the magma involved in the 1631 eruption was present under the volcano more than sixty years before the eruption. Moreover, its emplacement produced a series of phenomena which were clearly observed although not understood at that time. A similar phenomenological pattern should be easily detected and correctly interpreted at present or in the future.