Fields of Fire: Baia, Cumae and the Campi Flegrei

• PHOTOS
• MAP

Jutting into the blue espanse of the Bay of Naples, the Campi Flegrei (or Phlegrean Fields) represent the area's focal point of classical civilization, and offer a welcome respite from the crowds at other more highly-visited archaeological sites, such as Pompeii. Covering a wide swath of coastal land, the area is made up of a smattering of ancient towns, underground tunnels, classical temples and theatres and steaming volcanoes. As the first Greek settlement on the Italian mainland, this area's historically rich atmosphere, aided by its stunning natural beauty, speak multitudes about the intricacies of the dramatic natural landscape and the legends, myths and cults it spawned. In the company of one of our docents, either a classicist or archaeologist, we will explore a handful of the region's sites, many of which are protected as national parks, which best exemplify the dramatic history of the Fields.

We begin our half day excursion with a drive along the western coast of the Bay of

Jutting into the blue espanse of the Bay of Naples, the Campi Flegrei (or Phlegrean Fields) represent the area's focal point of classical civilization, and offer a welcome respite from the crowds at other more highly-visited archaeological sites, such as Pompeii. Covering a wide swath of coastal land, the area is made up of a smattering of ancient towns, underground tunnels, classical temples and theatres and steaming volcanoes. As the first Greek settlement on the Italian mainland, this area's historically rich atmosphere, aided by its stunning natural beauty, speak multitudes about the intricacies of the dramatic natural landscape and the legends, myths and cults it spawned. In the company of one of our docents, either a classicist or archaeologist, we will explore a handful of the region's sites, many of which are protected as national parks, which best exemplify the dramatic history of the Fields.

We begin our half day excursion with a drive along the western coast of the Bay of Naples, relishing the city landscape to the right, the bay to the left and Mt. Vesuvius looming behind us. Having arrived in the Campi Flegrei, depending on your interests and the scholarly background of the docent, we will delve into any number of ancient sites, all intrinsically important to the general history and culture of the area; Cumae, the epicentre of the Greek colonization of the 8th century BC, which now houses the remains of an ancient city and an acropolis; the so-called “Cave of the Sibyl”, where the Greek prophetess revealed the fates of men; Baia, the home of the idyllic pleasure palaces of Roman emperors such as Julius Caeser, Nero and Septimius Severus: and, if timing allows it, the Rione Terra, an underground city whose bakeries, temples, taverns and shrines recreate the daily life of its ancient inhabitants.

The area benefits from being virtually untocuhed by mass tourism and this intimacy with the sites offers a raw and immediate exposure to the ancient Greek roots of the area.