Rome-Naples June 2026
Day 11: Sunday 14 June 2026
Napoli sottoterraneo
In the “sottoterraneo”, the underground city. A mock-up of scavi (excavations), extracting tufo, volcanic rock, which is the main building material of Naples.
Our guide explained that during the Second World War, people found refuge during the bombardments in the extensive caverns that underlie the city. These date back to ancient times, pre-Roman, and even pre-Greek.
The Romans used the underground caverns as conduits for water.
An experiment to see if it would be possible to grow plants in an underground environment.
The underground labyrinth lies around 30m underground. Here the group is making its way back to the surface.
The tour extended to a Roman theatre, entirely under a more modern building. In one part there was a display of models, showing typical daily life in the streets of old Napoli.
Pulcinella arguing with a shopkeeper.