Vesuvius Slopes: Lacryma Christi

How to Complete

5 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. 🍷 1

   Taste the Wine Pliny the Elder Described Before Dying

   wine $$

   The red Lacryma Christi in your glass is built primarily on Piedirosso — a grape Pliny the Elder called 'Colombina' in his Naturalis Historia (77 AD). Two years later, Pliny sailed toward Vesuvius to observe the eruption and died on the shore at Cantina del Vesuvio (Via Panoramica 15, Trecase). Third-generation Mariella runs hospitality now. The 'Classico' tasting (€50) covers 6 wines from their 16-hectare organic estate on the volcano flank. What you're smelling is volcanic potassium concentrating into this specific wine from this specific patch of black sand. Take the Circumvesuviana to Torre del Greco, then 10-minute taxi up the slope. Book at least 3 days ahead via cantinadelvesuvio.it. Ask Mariella to show you the ungrafted vines — phylloxera cannot survive in volcanic sand, so these roots predate the disaster that reshaped global wine.

   🔄 BACKUP: If fully booked, Cantine Villa Dora (Terzigno, inside Vesuvius National Park) has the same ungrafted-vine story — their Gelsonero Lacryma Christi Rosso uses 60-65 year-old vines.

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2. 📜 2

   Find the City That Named Itself After Wine

   history Free

   This city is named after wine — the Capuchin friars renamed the old Roman colony 'Torre del Greco' (the Tower of the Greek Wine) because Piedirosso and Falanghina brought by Thessalian settlers produced wine in such spectacular quantities that the whole settlement became known by it in Torre del Greco's historic center (Corso Vittorio Emanuele III). Look at building walls — the dark lava stone incorporated into structures rebuilt after the 1631 eruption that killed 4,000 people. Two-thirds of the city was buried. The survivors came back, rebuilt directly on solidified lava, and replanted vines on the same slopes. They always replanted the vines. Stand in front of any 18th-century building and look for dark basaltic lava blocks cut into lighter tufa stone — the dark ones are literally the 1794 eruption when the town was buried under 10 metres of lava.

   🔄 BACKUP: If you want the coral angle instead — the city is also called 'City of Coral.' The Museo del Corallo (Piazza Palomba 6, free, morning weekday appointments only) shows 500 years of coral artisans who worked alongside winemakers on these slopes.

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3. 📜 3

   Decode the Legend at the Spot Where Lucifer Dropped Paradise

   history Free

   The Capuchin friars who kept this wine's secrets ran one of history's most elegant rewrites from the seafront promenade of Torre del Greco overlooking the Bay of Naples (GPS: 40.8575, 14.3570). Originally about Bacchus — the god loved these slopes so much his divine tears created the vines. The monks swapped the deity: Lucifer, expelled from Paradise, stole a fragment of Heaven and dropped it here, forming the Gulf of Naples you're looking at. Christ wept over this stolen paradise, his tears landing on Vesuvius behind you and becoming the vines. They rebranded a pagan wine cult into Christian sacrament — and made it more memorable. The Gulf of Naples IS the stolen piece of Paradise, according to monks who spent 500 years cultivating wine on an active volcano. Stand with Vesuvius at your back and the gulf in front — this is what 2,500 years of continuous viticulture looks like.

   🔄 BACKUP: This reflection works equally well from the terrace at Cantina del Vesuvio, which has the volcano behind you and the gulf visible below — same geographic drama, plus a glass in hand.

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4. 📜 4

   Stand Inside the Wine Bars That Pliny Wrote About

   history $

   80 thermopolia — ancient Roman wine bars — have been found in Pompeii, but the one in Regio V (opened 2021 after excavation in 2019) is the only one excavated entirely at Pompeii Archaeological Park (GPS: 40.7510, 14.4870). The counter still has its dolia and frescoes of food and wine served here. They found remnants of snails, ducks, goat, chicken, pig, and wine in these pots. This is the actual counter where someone poured Vesuvius wine the morning before the eruption of October 24, 79 AD. Pliny the Elder had written 'the wines of Pompeii arrive at their full perfection in 10 years' — then sailed toward the smoke and never came back. Take the Circumvesuviana to Pompei-Scavi stop, ask at entrance specifically for Regio V area on the northern edge. Spend time looking at the dolia embedded in the counter — what you're standing at is a 2,000-year-old wine bar.

   🔄 BACKUP: The main Pompeii entrance area has the macellum (market) and forum where amphorae of wine from across the Roman Empire were traded. Even if Regio V is crowded, the forum wine-trade context is visible everywhere.

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5. ⛰️ 5

   Hike to the Crater of the Volcano That Made This Wine

   Optional

   adventure $

   The walk to the crater rim takes 30–45 minutes from the parking area — an easy trail through successive layers of erupted material that created the volcanic sandy soil where phylloxera cannot survive at Vesuvius National Park (Gran Cono trailhead, GPS 40.8216, 14.4254). Every step preserves 90% of Vesuvio's vines as ungrafted originals. At the crater rim, look down into the void then look south — the dark strips of vineyards below you are Piedirosso and Caprettone growing in places that have been erupted over and replanted for 2,500 years. Ticket ~€10, MUST buy online at vesuviopark.vivaticket.it (no tickets at gate). Take the Circumvesuviana to Ercolano Scavi stop, then bus/taxi up the mountain. Go early or late to avoid crowds. On the way down, stop at viewpoints and look northeast toward dark vineyard terraces — those are the Lacryma Christi appellations.

   🔄 BACKUP: If the crater is closed (occasional wind/weather closures), the base-area trail through the national park still passes through the vine zones. The Cantina del Vesuvio terrace also faces the volcano directly — the same panorama with a glass in hand.

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Insider Tips

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  Mastroberardino's Lacryma Christi is the benchmark producer

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  Visit in afternoon for views of Naples bay at sunset

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  The red Lacryma Christi from Piedirosso is better than the white

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  Combine with a hike to Vesuvius crater (separate ticket)