Here we describe the horizontal velocities of continuous GPS stations in the Calabrian Arc (CA) and surrounding regions. The appropriate reference frame to evaluate the crustal motion of the CA is considered by assessing the internal deformation and the relative motion of the crustal blocks in the foreland of the Apennines‐Ionian‐Maghrebides subduction system. We propose that the motion of CA relative to the subducting Ionian lower plate is most properly assessed by minimizing the GPS velocities in Apulia. In this reference frame the significant ≈2 mm/yr southeastward motion of the stations on the Ionian flank of the CA shows that the arc is still moving towards the trench in agreement with the observations of active shortening in the Ioanian wedge. This southeastward migration is associated to 1.4 ± 0.3 mm/yr E‐W extension of the forearc in northern Calabria, comparable with the seismic strain averaged in the last 500 years. The limited subaerial exposure decreases the resolution on locking of the subduction interface but the distribution and direction of crustal extension along the CA impose important constraints on geodynamic interpretations of the area.

A two-dimensional active seismic experiment was performed on Mount Vesuvius: Explosive charges were set off at three sites, and the seismic signal along a dense line of 82 seismometers was recorded. A high-velocity basement, formed by Mesozoic carbonates, was identified 2 to 3 kilometers beneath the volcano. A slower ( P -wave velocity V P ≃ 3.4 to 3.8 kilometers per second) and shallower high-velocity zone underlies the central part of the volcano. Large-amplitude late arrivals with a dominant horizontal wave motion and low-frequency content were identified as a P to S phase converted at a depth of about 10 kilometers at the top of a low-velocity zone ( V P < 3 kilometers per second), which might represent a melting zone.

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