STERMINATOR VESEVO (VESUVIUS THE GREAT EXTERMINATOR) by Matilde Serao

This articles examines Matilde Serao’s *Sterminator Vesevo* (1906), a literary reportage on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that devastated several Vesuvian towns in April 1906. Combining journalistic documentation with literary and cultural analysis, the study explores how Serao represents the eruption not only as a natural catastrophe, but also as a social, ethical, and political crisis. Particular attention is devoted to her portrayal of collective reactions to disaster — fear, panic, solidarity, resilience, and civic responsibility — as well as to her reflections on the role of journalism, scientific knowledge, and public institutions in times of emergency. Through an examination of rhetorical strategies, stylistic devices, and recurring motifs such as hell, nemesis, and the sublime, the entry highlights how Serao transforms the volcanic event into a broader meditation on human vulnerability, social cohesion, and the moral responsibilities of modern society in the face of environmental catastrophe.