THE PHLEGREAN FIELDS
(CUMA, BAIA, BACOLI, POZZUOLI & MISENO)
The Phlegrean fields, from the greek “burning” is a place of ancient fascination where history, legend e myth melt into a fickle landscape. The Phlegrean fields are also beautiful interesting for the volcanic activity clearly evident. The greek colonization started in the first millennium B.C. and according to the ancients historians, Cuma was the first greek colony of the west.
Here are some helpful information before you start your tour:
The all phlegrean site it is an enormous volcanic area that extends to the west of the gulf of Naples from the hills of Posillipo to Cuma and includes the islands of Nisida, Procida and Ischia. To begin and for many centuries Capua was allied with the Etruscan city of Cuma. But with advent of Rome the center of all commercial activitys was move to Puteoli (Pozzuoli) to become the most important commercial port of the Mediterranean area. and Miseno was the mail Port of the Roman fleet and the close by location of Baia become the most beautiful and attractive resort for the roman aristocracy. Until when a phenomena called bradyseism (the raising or lowering of the terrain) begin to cause the sink of villa’s houses and the port. That was the beginning of the end.Merchant and military start to move to the port of Ostia near by Rome, meantime the phlegrean area start to depopulate completely, become a deserted area until when was re-discovered by the end of XIV century.The volcanic nature of the zone is obvious and some craters have become important lakes, for example lake Averno the site of “Temple of Apollo” or Fusaro the location of the “Casino Reale” a charming and gracious 1700 rococo villa design by architect Luigi Vanvitelli and used by Ferdinando di Borbone is hunting resort, the tour included the solfatara: an active volcano near Pozzuoli, which you can see the inside of a crater with boiling lava and steaming mud .The Pozzuoli amphitheatre dates to Emperor Flavian times. Baia archaeological park, probably an imperial residence. The archaeological park of Cuma includes the acropolis and the Sybil’s cave. The piscine mirabilis an immense reservoir for the restocking of the Roman fleet and so many others ancient locations.
“A land where only stones breathe, deserted, with boiling water and with the remains of a past shaped by spent and half spent volcanoes” these are the phlegrean fields describe by Johann Wolfgang Goethe in 1787.
Private Tour Campi Flegrei