The abandoned village
Mar 25, 2024
The district was completely cleared in 1970 due to the most important bradisismic crisis that still afflicts the area of Campi Flegrei. The entire district has long been the subject of restoration and redevelopment, along with the complex system of tunnels below that constitute the archaeological route.
Throughout the Puteolian territory, the fortress of Rione Terra is the only place that has been the protagonist of all the historical evolutions, from the early years of Greek and Roman colonization to the modern era. In Roman times Pozzuoli was for centuries the largest commercial port of Rome, and the Rione Terra was its beating heart but, with the opening of the port of Ostia, the district was gradually abandoned. Successive cultures built their workshops and homes on what were once the Roman walls. The most striking example of this phenomenon is undoubtedly the cathedral of the city of Pozzuoli, which was built right on the walls of the temple of Augustus. The cathedral, built at the time of the Spanish domination, incorporates the temple of the Roman era, which in turn incorporated a temple of the Republican era dating back to 194 B.C. Until the 1960s the Rione Terra was still the pulsating center, of the city and the passage of centuries had now hidden the buildings of Roman times. On March 2, 1970, the fortress was evacuated following one of the frequent bradysismic swarms in the history of Pozzuoli, leading to its complete abandonment. In the early '90s began the restoration and redevelopment of the entire district that also brought to light numerous testimonies of the Roman past of the city
In its basement, in fact, hides a real Roman city, dating back to the ancient Roman city of Puteoli, founded in 194 BC There are numerous buildings, grain deposits, the oven for processing and baking bread with millstones almost intact, cryptoporticos, shops and warehouses.
Currently the underground route remains closed for investigations into the new bradysismic crisis in progress.