The National Park of Mt. Vesuvius was created in 1995 by the Italian Government by establishing the Ente Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio, the body in charge of it. It includes Mt. Vesuvius and surrounding Monte Somma, that is what remains of the original larger volcano after the eruption that buried Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabiae and Oplontis in AD 79. It is the smallest National Park in Italy and one of the smallest in the world but it is very important due to the presence of the most famous volcano in the world.