West of Naples, over the Posillipo, is Pozzuoli (28m/92ft; pop. 71,000), a port situated on the slopes of a tufa ridge projecting into the sea, on the edge of the area of volcanic hills known as the Phlegraean Fields. Founded in the sixth century B.C. by Greeks from Samos, it passed in the hands of the Romans in 318 B.C. and as Puteoli developed into the principal Italian port for trade with Egypt and the East. In the old town, which is situated on a peninsula, is the cathedral of San Procolo (destroyed by fire in 1964; not open to the public), which was built on the site of a temple of the third-second century B.C. and has ancient columns. It contains the tomb of the composer Pergolesi (1710-36).
500m/550yd south of Bacoli, above the Mare Morte, is the Piscina Mirabilis, an excellently preserved Roman reservoir 70m/77yd long by 25.5m/28yd wide, with a vaulted roof borne on 48 massive pillars.
Address: Piscina Mirabile Bacoli, Via A. Greco 10, I-80070 Bacoli, Italy
Two km/1.25 mi southeast of Baia along the west side of the Bay of Pozzuoli (on the left the 16th century Castello di Baia) we come to Bacoli (pop. 25,000). On a tongue of land 500m/550yd east is a two-story Roman structure known as the Cento Camerelle, the upper story of which was a cistern.
Six km/4 mi west of Pozzuoli is Baia (pop. 6,000), prettily situated on the west side of the Bay of Pozzuoli. As Baiae this was the most fashionable watering-place of Imperial Rome, and impressive palaces dating from this period have been excavated. At the near end of the town, to the right of the road, is the so-called Temple of Mercury, a large circular building with a vaulted roof open in the center, adjoining which are the Baths of Mercury. Farther on, to the right, are the Baths of Sosandra, with the semicircular Theater of the Nymphs and a statue of Sosandra. Immediately west are the Baths of Venus, opposite the so-called Temple of Venus.
Address: Parco Archeologico Baia Terme Romane, Via Sella di Baia 22, I-80070 Baia, Italy
From the village of Miseno it is a half hour's climb to the top of Monte Miseno (167m/551ft), a curiously shaped crater rising out of the sea, described by Virgil as the tomb of Aeneas's trumpeter Misenus, from which there is one of the finest views of the Bay of Naples and Gaeta.
1.5km/1mile east of the Serapeum, near the road from Naples, is the entrance to the Solfatara, a semi-extinct volcano (only recorded eruption 1198). This is a circular area enclosed by tufa hills, with numerous fissures which emit steam and sulfurous gases. The ground sounds hollow. The temperature of the largest fumarole is 162 °C/324 °F, of the smaller ones around 100 °C/212 °F. The volume of vapor is considerably increased if a piece of burning paper or a torch is held at the mouth of one of the vents.
Address: Vulcano Solfatara, Via Solfatara 161, I-80078 Pozzuoli, Italy
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Bacoli, Italy
Pozzuoli, Naples
