Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Anfiteatro Flavio
( 081 526 60 07; Via Terracciano 75; adult/reduced €4/2; varies, usually 9am-1hr
before sunset Wed-Mon; Cumana to Pozzuoli, Pozzuoli)
In its heyday, Italy's third-
largest amphitheatre could hold over 20,000 bloodthirsty spectators, who would pour in to
cheer on mock naval battles (yes, the stadium was occasionally flooded for fun), and in-
dulge in a little
schadenfreude
as lions chased those captive Christians. Planned by Nero
and completed by Vespasian (AD 69-79), the ancient stadium's best-preserved remains lie
under the main arena.
Wander among the fallen columns and get your head around the complex mechanics in-
volved in hoisting the caged wild beasts up to their waiting victims through the overhead
'skylights'. In AD 305 seven Christian martyrs were thrown to the animals by the emperor
Diocletian. They survived, only to be later beheaded. One of the seven was San Gennaro,
the patron saint of Naples.
Opening times can be fickle, so consider calling ahead.
RUIN
Rione Terra
Offline map
( 848 80 02 88; Largo Sedile di Porto; adult/concession €4/2; vary; Cumana to
Pozzuoli, Pozzuoli)
Rione Terra is Pozzuoli's oldest quarter and its ancient acropolis.
Beneath the current cluster of 17th-century buildings lies an archaeological treasure trove
of roads, shops and even a brothel dating back to the days when Pozzuoli was the ancient
port of Puteoli. More often closed than open, call the Pozzuoli tourist office for updates.
If you are lucky enough to explore the ruins, you'll find yourself walking down the
decumanus maximus
- check out ancient taverns, peer into millers' shops (complete with
intact grindstones) and decipher graffiti written by the poet Catallus in a dingy slaves'
cell. Archaeologists made the startling find after volcanic activity in the 1970s forced a
mass evacuation of the quarter. Above ground, Pozzuoli's 16th-century duomo is built
around an ancient Capitolium, itself lavishly restructured by Lucius Cocceius in the
Augustan age.
HISTORIC SITE, RUIN
Solfatara Crater
Offline map
( 081 526 23 41;
www.solfatara.it
; Via Solfatara 161; adult/reduced €7/4.50;
8.30am-1hr before sunset;
VOLCANO
Pozzuoli, then 900m walk north along Via Solfatara)
Un-
