Basaltic volcanism was generally thought to produce effusive products (e.g. lava flows) with the most explosive manifestations ranging from mild Strombolian to Hawaiian activity. However, it has been recently recognized that basaltic magmas can erupt with a considerably higher explosive intensity and wide range of eruptive styles, such as widespread paroxysmal, phreatomagmatic, subplinian and Plinian events. This PhD project is focused on the investigation of the basaltic explosive dynamics by characterizing and comparing the deposits and the erupted products of explosive eruptions of different styles, in order to improve our general understanding of basaltic dynamics and to help raise the awareness of the risk from highly explosive eruptions from basaltic volcanoes, still so often underestimated. Two main basaltic-andesite deposits are considered in this study: the Fontana Lapilli Plinian eruption from Nicaragua and the Chaimilla explosive eruption from Villarrica volcano in Chile. In addition, some textural studies of the products of the Etna 1998 basaltic subplinian eruption (Italy) and of three basaltic-andesite and andesite Plinian eruptions from Cotopaxi volcano (Ecuador) have been performed and compared with the results from Fontana Lapilli deposit and with others from the literature.