Campania in the Flavian Poetic Imagination

The volcanic soil of Campania, the region surrounding Vesuvius, was fertile ground for the imaginations of Flavian writers. In the aftermath of the volcano's eruption in 79 CE, authors including Martial, Silius Italicus, Statius, and Valerius Flaccus continued to live and work in Campania, writing about it as an alluring region of luxury and peril.