Around the Bay of Naples - Pozzuoli, Monte di Procaida, Cuma

Monday, May 9, 2016

Pozzuoli is just west of Naples, close enough to be part of the city's Metro system, but with traffic that is a bit easier to handle than the big city's famously chaotic free-for-all.  We parked in a lot on the Bay and walked up the hill to the Flavian Amphitheater, the third largest of the Roman world, after the Colosseum and the one here in Santa Maria Capua Vetere.  Pozzuoli's theater is right in the midst of a busy urban scene; as is so often the case in Italy, centuries live side by side each other.  The 1st century BC structure has been beautifully restored, and the corridors beneath the arena floor were particularly interesting.  Evidently, after its life as a stadium was over, people began to live in the amphitheater.  To give themselves more space, they put some of the "furniture" in storage in the basement.  As a result, the underground passageways are full of fluted columns resting on their sides and highly decorated Corinthian capitals just waiting for someone to appreciate their beauty.  Initially, I hadn't felt any particular need to see yet another Roman Amphitheater, but this was really special.

Not far from the theater, we visited the Solfatara Crater, which is part of the Phlegraean Fields. Though much less well-known than nearby Mt. Vesuvius, the fields are one of the world's most unstable volcanic areas.  The crater seemed a bit like a mini-Yellowstone, with fumaroles emitting sulphurous steam, hot ground surfaces beneath which gurgling sounds can be heard, and areas where the earth was yellow, orange, or rust colored.  No Old Faithful, bears or bison here, but the grounds did include a camping area.

We'd noticed a peninsula that ended in a promontory jutting into the bay, and decided to head out there to take in the views.  We found a belvedere in the town of Monte di Procida and enjoyed panoramic views over the blue waters of the bay, boats, towns, and the nearby islands. 

Note Vesuvius in the background

Needless to say, we did manage to get lost as we headed back inland in an attempt to see the archeological areas around Baia, though we did get to see more of the peninsula than we'd planned. Eventually, we decided to skip Baia and head to Cuma instead; there are ruins in pretty much every direction here, and those at Cuma were ones our GPS could actually find.

Cave of Sibyl

Cuma, founded in the 8th century BC, was the first Greek colony on the Italian mainland; eventually, it came under Roman rule.  Its most famous structure is the Cave of the Sibyl, a long corridor that was home to the oracle.  In the Aeneid, Virgil immortalized the spot when Aeneas arrived to consult with Sibyl, who directed him to Hades, via the nearby Lake Avernus.  Along a path that climbs a hill overlooking the countryside and the bay, the Cuma site also includes the ruins of Greek temples to Apollo and Diana, as well as a (relatively) more-intact Roman one to Jupiter, which eventually became a Christian church.

With that, it was time to head down the hill and back to 21st century rush hour traffic -- Italian style, which made the ancient world seem pretty attractive.