In 1631 Mount Vesuvius erupted violently after a long dormant period and devastated the surrounding area, killing more than 4000 people and changing the local geography. The volcano's eruption was its second most destructive ever, exceeded only by the eruption that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79. There were two lava flows that approached Resina but these were kept separate as they flowed around the hill of Pugliano, sparing the houses of the village. One of the flows filled the valley on the western side of the hill and when it solidified the village expanded onto the newly-created plain. The wide road via Pugliano was built running straight up to the basilica on the top of the hill.