Muography of the Volcanic Structure of the Summit of Vesuvius, Italy

In the context of recent developments in volcanic muography, we describe an
experiment at Vesuvius, the volcano near Naples that destroyed Pompeii and
Herculaneum (Italy) in 79 AD. This volcano is about 1200\,m high with a
typical summit caldera formed by Mount Somma. Vesuvius is among the
highest-risk volcanoes in the world due to its highly explosive eruptive style
and the high population density of the area where it is located. Volcanoes are
generally fragile geological structures, prone to produce partial
collapse and large landslides that can affect the style of eruptions.
Moreover, the knowledge of the internal structure is fundamental for
understanding past eruption activity and for constraining eruption models.
For these reasons, studying the internal structure of the ``Gran Cono'' (great
cone) of Vesuvius and the physical characteristics of its rock is important
and led us to design a muography experiment at Vesuvius.
This experiment, which is currently in progress, is based on three
scintillator detectors with a surface of 1\,m$^2$ each.
These detector features have been implemented to overcome the problems related
to the large thickness of rock that form the ``Gran Cono'' of Vesuvius and the
effects that can be a source of error in data processing.
These aspects represent an open challenge for the muography of large
volcanoes, which today constitutes the frontier of research in the field of
volcanic muography.