European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 12, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pupils watch steam coming from a vent at a temperature of More than 300 degrees  get up close look and smell at Volcano by Cary Miller picking up a Large Stone Alfredo criscuolo demonstrated a surprising feature of the eerie terrain he and his pupils were visiting. He dropped the Rock it hit the ground with a sound like a giant Finger thumping a big Watermelon and caused vibrations that delighted the second graders around him. The Busload of Naples american elementary school. Pupils was one of dozens of groups to visit Solf Atara a volcanically Active area on the outskirts of Naples Italy on a recent april morning. Modern science has explained some of the forces that make Solf Atara seem like a Cross Between Yellowstone National Park and Dante s vision of hell. But walking in the Shadow of the Crater s Stark lava Walls surrounded by volcanic vents spouting steam that saturates the air with the fumes of Brimstone it s easy to understand How in the 14th Century the italian poet _ Dante Alighieri could have compared Solf Atara to satan s stomping grounds. Today most people know that Brimstone is Fulfur the yellow chemical element that colors the rocks fills the area with the distinctive Rotten egg odor and from which Solf Atara gets its name. To youngsters of the Steven Spielberg generation however the Smoky moonscape might seem like a theme Park with special effects produced by a Mist making machine. A. Criscuolo a Host nation teacher did his Best to dispel any such impressions his pupils might have explaining that the wooden and wire fences stretching throughout the area a Are to protect people from the violence of the steam and thinness of the  he dropped the Stone and had the children jump in unison so they could hear and feel the thinness of that crust the Only thing Between them and caverns below filled with molten Rock and steam. While the children could safety put their hands in the steam from the Crater s gentler smaller vents some of. Openings in the restricted areas put oot 338-degree Vapours with a 10-horsepower kick. The crust is so thin in places that new cracks appear All the time Raffaele Avallone explained As he guided criscuolo and a couple of pupils parents through a restricted area Avallone Sells volcanic and Fulfur stained rocks to visitors and helps Monitor Solf Atara s activity. He showed the visitors the rubble of an old Observatory that he said was damaged beyond use in the Early 1980s by Brad ism tremors caused by volcanic activity instead of the shifting of tectonic plates which causes earthquakes. Activity near Solf Atara in february finally destroyed the Structure Avallone said. As he guided the visitors Over the Safe paths in the restricted area Avallone discovered a new crack. About 5,000 years old Solf Atara is a relatively new Volcano in an area known As Campi Fleg Rei or a the flaming Fields Quot which has been a Center of geologic activity since a huge eruption formed the Bay of Naples 30,000 years ago. That prehistoric eruption also formed Pozzuoli an area next to Naples that the flaming Fields activity has plagued Ever  where Pozzuoli fishermen kept their boats Rose about two Yards above sea level in the Early 80s As a result of Brad ism. The mariners who were used to stepping off piers into their boats had to use ladders criscuolo said. Experts say the chances of the most obvious form of. Volcanic activity a an eruption at Solf Atara in the next Century Are about 50-50. An eruption could amount to nothing at All or might cover much of the Naples area with volcanic Ash. In spite of the risk of being at ground Zero for an event that might make them the subjects of some future archaeologist s excavation thousands of italians and other europeans Camp at Solf Atara every year. They stay at the Crater to breathe the us Lurous fumes which they believe to be a health enhancing experience. Some of criscuolo s pupils thought the fumes were just Plain Nasty an attitude shared by Many of their parents who work just Down the Hill from Solf Atara at naval support activity Naples. Scientists on the other hand have begun to look at the Crater in a Way that has nothing to do with when it will erupt or How it smells Avallone said. They have discovered microscopic organisms that thrive in temperatures of at least 248 degrees a temperature roughly 70 degrees higher than what was previously considered the maximum under which life could exist. The discovery Avallone explained indicates that while volcanoes like Solf Atara May destroy life when they erupt billions of years ago their hot steamy vents May have helped form and nurture a Young planet s first inhabitants. Gary Miller is a former member Otto stars and stripes staff