Ancient Naples Archaeology Tour with San Lorenzo

Go below the city streets to uncover Naples' ancient past
From US$301 privately
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Tour Details
Duration
2 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
  • San Lorenzo Maggiore
  • Il Gesù Nuovo
Photos & Highlights
  • Explore the complex history of subterranean Naples complete with a visit to an archaeological site beneath San Lorenzo
  • Led by an archaeologist
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Tour Description
Naples is a city whose roots run deep. In fact, its complex history is so profound that only a visit beneath the present-day city surface will uncover the complete picture. During this two-hour Naples Underground Tour we will explore a series of spaces unassumingly scattered throughout the historical center and learn from an archaeologist how to peel back the layers of urban history to uncover the enigmatic past of this city.

Naples Underground Tour

We begin with a stroll through the lively streets of the city center that still follow the decumani, or ancient Roman roads, originally laid out 2000 years ago. Although long sunken beneath Naples' modern, chaotic streetscape, in the company of our guide, a trained archaeologist, we will acquire the skill of teasing out clues of the city's ancient past from its contemporary layout. We'll also use this time to paint a picture of ancient Naples and its role in the Roman empire.

Below Ground

Located just off the via Tribunali, the decumanus maximus are the excavations underneath the Gothic church of San Lorenzo Maggiore where Naples' ancient forum once lay. This is one of the key places to view the leftover traces of the ancient city. We'll descend underground and explore this archaeological complex, which has both Greek and Roman roots. We'll discuss the role of the Greek Agora, then subsequently the Roman Forum, in civic and commercial life during antiquity.

Putting the Pieces Together

There is much to explore here, including ancient city streets that date from the 1st and 3rd centuries BCE and a wide range of ruined buildings, including the aerarium, where the city's riches were held, an ancient bakery and laundry, and the suggestive cryptoporticus, or covered passageway. Our guide will use these archaeological bits and pieces to weave together a portrait of ancient life in Naples. What would it have been like as a shop owner or slave in this society? What would my daily routine been, and how was the larger social structure set up?

Take Aways

By the end of this walk, we will have a much clearer understanding of the evolution of Naples as a city, as well as a deep appreciation for its current attempts to salvage its priceless links to an illustrious past. For those with a deep interest in antiquities, we also suggest our Naples Archaeological Museum Tour and our Mount Vesuvius Tour.
Where You'll Start
26 Reviews (4.78)

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We had a day to spend in Naples and chose the food tour for the morning and this Underground tour for the afternoon. We asked for personable and engaging guides for our family of six (including 3 adult children and 1 teen), and Context perfectly matched us with our food guide. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about our other guide. Although he seemed polite, he was distant and seemed to have no interest in engaging with our children. He didn't even ask their names! In an attempt to connect with him, we asked him about his musical interests and his Ph D work and got minimal response. To be fair, he did provide interesting information about the remains under San Lorenzo, and we were grateful for the context (no pun intended). He pointed out and explained about a prison, the shops, and living quarters. He answered our follow-up questions, but in a methodical way. After we visited San Lorenzo (both the church and the excavation site), we felt that the tour was quite haphazard, as if we were just being shown random sites to fill our time. He kindly ended the tour in a spot that made it easy for us to find our way back to our cruise ship; however, he left us feeling confused (because we received no wrap-up commentary about ancient Naples) and disappointed (because we never connected with him). We wonder why Context didn't schedule a full day with food guide, as she is also listed as a guide on the Underground itinerary. Our guide had mentioned that he'd had a Pompeii tour in the morning. Maybe he was tired and distracted as a result? Following our tour, we discussed with our children possible reasons for such a dull tour as a way to quell our disappointment. Fortunately, they chose to focus on how wonderful their time with our first guide had been earlier that morning. We were grateful for our second guide's commentary of San Lorenzo, but to be honest, we probably would have been more satisfied with an audio tour.
First rate effort in all respects. Keep it up.
Fabrizio was a great guide. Having studied architecture it gave him a somewhat different perspective on the history and archeology of Naples. We learned a lot from him. He was also very friendly. Overall he was one of the best docents we encountered with Context Travel (and all of them were great - quite a high bar). The only “problem” is that the tour ended too soon.