Pozzuoli in 1800, majolica in PozzuoliFestival near Pozzuoli, byFranz Ludwig Catel, 1823View of Pozzuoli in 1829
Pozzuoli began as the Greekcolony ofDicaearchia (Greek:Δικαιαρχία) founded in about 531 BC inMagna Graecia with the consent of nearbyCumae when refugees fromSamos escaped from the tyranny ofPolycrates.[3]
TheSamnites occupied Dicaearchia in 421 BC after conquering Cumae and may have changed its name to Fistelia.[4] It enjoyed considerable political and commercial autonomy favoured by the excellent position of its port with the Campanian hinterland. The Roman occupation of Campania after the end of the 1stSamnite War from 341 BC marked the start of the Romanisation of the Greek-Samnite city.[citation needed]
During theSecond Punic War (218–201 BC), Rome recognised the strategic importance of the port of Puteoli and reinforced the defences and introduced a garrison to protect the town from Hannibal, who failed to capture it in 215.[5][6] They made it aRoman colony from 195 BC.The Roman conquest of the east and the need for a port to trade made it the Mediterranean port of Rome, even though it was 150 miles away. It took the namePuteoli whose roots are in the Latinputeus (well or cistern).[7] An alternative etymology of Puteoli derives from the Latinputeo (to stink), referring to thesulfuric fumes in the area, most notably fromSolfatara.[8]
Puteoli became the great emporium for theAlexandriangrain ships and other ships from all over the Roman world. It also was the main hub for goods exported fromCampania, includingblown glass,mosaics, wroughtiron, andmarble.Lucilius wrote in about 125 BC that it was second only toDelos in importance, then the greatest harbour of the ancient world. Many inscriptions show that a polyglot population established companies (stationes) for trade and transport and formed professional guilds for arts, crafts and religious associations for foreign cults; they included Greeks from the islands and the coast of Asia, Jews and later Christians. Under the Roman Empire, it was the greatest emporium of foreign trade in all of Italy. Trade withTyre was so important that the Tyrians established a factory there in 174 (C.I. no. 5853).[citation needed]
TheRoman naval base at nearbyMisenum housed the largest naval fleet in the ancient world. It was also the site of theRomanDictatorSulla's country villa and the place where he died in 78 BC.Cicero had a house in Puteoli and a villa nearby on the shore of theLucrine Lake.[9]Pliny mentions Puteoli as the site of a famed cochlearium created byFulvius Hirpinus, known for raising exquisitesnails.[citation needed]
Theapostle Paul landed in Pozzuoli on his way toRome, 170 miles (274 kilometres) away, stayed for seven days (Acts 28:13, 14), and then began with his companions his journey by theAppian Way to Rome.[citation needed] There was aNabataean community in the city that built a sanctuary at the port; it likely ended in the early second century CE when the site was filled with concrete.[11]
In 37 AD, Puteoli was the location for a political stunt by EmperorGaius Caligula, who, on becoming Emperor, ordered a temporaryfloating bridge to be built using trading vessels, stretching for over two miles (3.2 km) from the town to the famous neighboring resort ofBaiae, across which he proceeded to ride his horse, in defiance of anastrologer's prediction that he had "no more chance of becoming Emperor than of riding a horse across the Gulf of Baiae".[12]
With the development of the port ofOstia begun byClaudius in 42 AD, completed byNero in 54 and enlarged byTrajan between 100 and 106, the fortunes of Puteoli began to decline, althoughAntoninus Pius repaired the pier's storm damage in 139. Nero's abortive attempt to build theFossa Neronis canal from Puteoli to Rome may have prolonged its life. As a reward for their support in the fight againstVitellius,Vespasian (r. 69–79 AD) installed more veterans there, assigned the city a part of the Capuan territory and gave it the titleColonia Flavia which it retained.[citation needed]
Hadrian died at Baiae in 138 and was atCicero's villa at Puteoli,[13] though his body was later transferred to Rome.
Two aqueducts eventually served Puteoli; theCampanian aqueduct dating from the 1st c. BC at the latest,[14] and also theAqua Augusta. Several cisterns still exist, including the very large Piscina di Cardito.[15]
Saint Proculus (San Procolo) was martyred here with his companions in the fourth century, and is the city'spatron saint. The seven eagle heads on thecoat of arms of the town of Pozzuoli are said to represent seven of these martyrs. November 16 was the official feast day for Saint Proculus. St Proculus was affectionately nicknamed'u pisciasotto ("the pants-pisser") because November 16 was often a day ofrain. The townspeople also celebrated his feast day on the second Sunday in May.[16]
Charles Lyell visited Pozzuoli in 1828 and studied the Macellum columns.
Since 1946, the town has been the home of theAccademia Aeronautica, the Italian Air Force Academy, which was first situated on the island ofNisida, then from 1962 on a purpose-built hilltop campus overlooking the bay.
From August 1982 to December 1984, the city experienced hundreds of tremors andbradyseismic activity, which peaked on 4 October 1983, damaging 8,000 buildings in the city centre and displacing 36,000 people, many permanently. The events raised the sea bottom by almost 2 m, and rendered the Bay of Pozzuoli too shallow for large craft.[citation needed] There was similar seismic activity in 2023.[17]
The ancientMacellum of Pozzuoli was a market building, erroneously identified as aSerapeum when a statue ofSerapis was discoveredFlavian AmphitheatreTemple of Augustus in the CathedralView of Pozzuoli
TheMacellum of Pozzuoli, also known as theTemple of Serapis orserapeum, is considered the city's symbol. The "temple" was a marketplace. Its name derives from the misinterpretation of its function after a statue of the godSerapis was found in 1750. The Macellum includes three majestic columns inCipollino marble, which show erosion from marineLithophaga molluscs when, at an earlier time, the ground level was much lower due toBradyseism, and sea-water could flow in.[18]
Temple of Augustus (part of the cathedral)
Smaller Amphitheatre, very close to the Flavian one, its remains were absorbed by other buildings, but some arches can be seen by Via Solfatara and Via Vign
Roman Baths, the so-called Temple of Neptune, are the remains of a big thermal complex now in Corso Terracciano, which also included the nearby "Dianae Nymphaeum".
The Villa Avellino park has several Roman ruins and cisterns. There is also a still working Roman "face" water fountain.
Rione Terra, the first settlement of Puteoli, originally Dikaiarkhia in Greek.
Necropolis of Via Celle, a rich complex of tombs and mausoleums, very near to an old Roman road still used today (Via Cupa Cigliano).
Necropolis of the Via Puteolis Capuam, just under the bridge that leads outside the city near Via Solfatara.
Stadium of Antoninus Pius, a very similar stadium to the Domitian one in Rome, partially excavated (Via Campi Flegrei).
The Piscina di Cardito cistern, second in size only to thePiscina Mirabilis, and used as a settlement tank for the water supply from the Aqua Augusta aqueduct.
Sanctuary ofSan Gennaro (St. Januarius). Along with theCathedral of Naples, it is one of the two places where the alleged miracle of the liquefaction of the saint's blood occurs.
^Ferrari Graziano, Lamagna Raffaella. The Campanian Aqueduct stairway was rediscovered. Hypogea 2015 – International congress of speleology in artificial cavities
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