The Crypta Neapolitana (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "Neapolitan crypt") is an

ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

road tunnel near

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It was built in 37 BC and is over 700 metres long. The tunnel connected Naples with the so-called

Phlegrean Fields The Phlegraean Fields ( it, Campi Flegrei ; nap, Campe Flegree, from Ancient Greek 'to burn') is a large region of supervolcanic calderas situated to the west of Naples, Italy. It was declared a regional park in 2003. The area of the calde ...

and the town of

Pozzuoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα� ...

along the road known as the ''

via Domiziana :The ''via Domitiana'' is not to be confused with the similar-sounding ''via Domitia'' in France. Via Domiziana is the modern name for the Via Domitiana in the Campania region of Italy, a major Roman road built in 95 AD under (and named fo ...

''.

Geography

The eastern entrance (on the Naples side) lies in the Vergiliano park of

Piedigrotta Piedigrotta (; nap, Piererotta ; "at the foot of the grotto") is a section of the Chiaia quarter of Naples, Italy, so-called for the presence of the Church of the Madonna of Piedigrotta near the entrance to the Crypta Neapolitana. The area w ...

("at the foot of the grotta"); the western end is in the area now called

Fuorigrotta Fuorigrotta ( nap, Forerotta; ) is a western suburb of Naples, southern Italy. Covering an area of 6,2 km2, it is the most populated suburb of the city (population: 76.521). Geography It lies beyond the Posillipo hill and has been joined ...

("outside the grotta"). The site is also noteworthy for the presence of the so-called

Virgil's tomb Virgil's tomb (Italian: ''Tomba di Virgilio'') is a Roman burial vault in Naples, said to be the tomb of the poet Virgil (70–19 BCE). It is located at the entrance to the old Roman tunnel known as the Crypta Neapolitana or ''grotta vecchia'' ...

, as well as the tomb of the Italian poet

Giacomo Leopardi Count Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi (, ; 29 June 1798 – 14 June 1837) was an Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. He is considered the greatest Italian poet of the nineteenth century and one of ...

History

Naples and Pozzuoli were separated by a great impenetrable marsh: the first road between the two cities was probably built by the Greeks and was narrow and indirect. The first Roman road connecting Neapolis and the Phlegrean fields, the ''via (Antiniana) per colles'', was built at the beginning of the 1st century BC and followed the easiest route but it was nevertheless still long, difficult, tortuous and traversed steep hills. It climbed the hills of

Vomero Vomero () is a bustling hilltop district of metropolitan Naples, Italy — comprising approximately and a population of 48,000. Vomero is noted for its central square, Piazza Vanvitelli; the ancient Petraio, its earliest path up and down t ...

and came back down towards Fuorigrotta arriving at the modern Via Terracina from where it continued to the ports of

Puteoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα ...

and

Cumae Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...

. As Puteoli and associated trade between the two cities grew, the old road needed to be improved, so the tunnel shortened the route and avoided several hills. The tunnel was first built by the architect Lucius

Cocceius Auctus Lucius Cocceius Auctus (1st century BC and 1st century AD) was a Roman architect employed by Octavian's strategist (and intended successor) Agrippa to excavate the subterranean passageways known as the ''crypta neapolitana'' connecting modern-day ...

for

Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Agri ...

during the civil war between

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

and

Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the last ...

in c.37 BC. The new road, called ''via per cryptam'', turned north at the west end of the tunnel, heading towards Via Leopardi and reconnecting with the old road, the via Neapolis-Puteoli, at the top of Via Terracina where a way-station (''tabernae'') and adjoining thermal spa complex has been excavated. The tunnel is one of 4 road tunnels built in the area by Cocceius: others are the Grotta di Seiano (tunnel of Sejanus) in

Posillipo Posillipo (; nap, Pusilleco ) is an affluent residential quarter of Naples, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the Gulf of Naples. From the 1st century BC the Bay of Naples witnessed the rise of villas constructed by elite Roma ...

, the

Grotta di Cocceio The Grotta di Cocceio (Cocceius' Tunnel) is an ancient Roman tunnel nearly a kilometre in length connecting Lake Avernus with Cumae and dating from 38-36 BC. It was burrowed through the tuff stone of Monte Grillo by the architect Lucius Cocceius ...

from

Lake Avernus __NOTOC__ Lake Avernus ( it, Lago d'Averno) is a volcanic crater lake located in the Avernus crater in the Campania region of southern Italy, around west of Pozzuoli. It is near the volcanic field known as the Phlegraean Fields (') and comprises ...

, and the Crypta Romana from Cumae to its port, as part of a network of military infrastructures including construction of the

Portus Julius (alternatively spelled in the Latin ) was the first harbour specifically constructed to be a base for the Roman western naval fleet, the ; the eastern fleet was based in the Port of Ravenna. The port was located at Misenum on a peninsula at the ...

. The Aqua Augusta (Serino) aqueduct was built later in parallel to the road tunnel. The tunnel was still in use as a roadway until superseded by two modern tunnels in the early 20th century, and shows extensive restoration done by the architects of the Bourbon dynasty of Naples. During the Second World War it was used as a bomb shelter for the inhabitants of Bagnoli; the war and some landslides during the fifties put it back into a state of neglect. Today it has been restored as an archaeological site. According to mediaeval legend, the tunnel was built by the poet

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

in a single night.

References

External links

{{Archaeological sites in Campania History of Naples Roman roads in Italy Streets in Naples Archaeological sites in Naples