Archaeological Site
Underground Naples (Napoli Sotterranea)
Naples · Campania
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Archaeological Site
- COUNTRY
- Italy
- REGION
- Naples · Campania
- DURATION
- 2 days
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
Beneath the streets of Naples lies a second city — a network of Greek-Roman aqueducts, cisterns, passages and caves dug into the soft tufa over 2,400 years, used for water storage until the 19th century, as air-raid shelters in the Second World War, and as a warren of storage and refuge through the centuries. The Napoli Sotterranea, the most visited of the underground routes, descends from the San Lorenzo quarter through a Greco-Roman theatre hidden under a modern house, into the aqueduct cisterns and the wartime shelters, some still marked with the names of the families who sheltered there. It is the layer of the city that the surface does not show, and the one that most clearly reveals how deep Naples’s history goes.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
The Greeks quarried the tufa beneath the city to build the walls of Neapolis, and the cavities became the aqueducts and cisterns that supplied the city with water from the 5th century BC until the cholera epidemic of 1885, when the cisterns were closed. The Romans added the aqueducts and built theatres, one of which was later built over and forgotten. In the Second World War the underground passages were reopened as air-raid shelters, housing up to 40,000 people during the Allied bombing. The Napoli Sotterranea association began clearing and opening the passages in the 1980s, and several routes are now visitable.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The Greco-Roman theatre — the theatre hidden beneath a modern house, with the cavea and the seats built into the cellars.
The aqueduct cisterns — the vast water cisterns dug into the tufa, used for 2,400 years.
The wartime shelters — the passages used as air-raid shelters in 1943–44, with the names of the sheltering families still on the walls.
The hypogeum crops — the experimental gardens grown in the cavities, using the constant temperature and humidity.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
The underground is the layer of Naples that completes the picture — the city above is built on 2,400 years of quarrying, water storage and refuge below, and without seeing it the depth of the place is invisible. For a visitor, descending into the Napoli Sotterranea is the most surprising single experience in the city, and the one that most clearly shows how old and how layered Naples is.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
MAP & LOCATION
Underground Naples (Napoli Sotterranea)
Underground Naples (Napoli Sotterranea), Naples, Campania, Italy
40.8506, 14.2636
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THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele — the most famous pizzeria in Naples, the birthplace of the margherita, since 1870
Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo — the celebrated pizzeria on the Via dei Tribunali, queues around the block
Trattoria da Nennella — a boisterous trattoria in the Spanish Quarter for honest Neapolitan cooking
Trattoria San Ferdinando — a refined trattoria near the Royal Palace for classic Neapolitan dishes
Pintauro — the historic fry-shop on the Via Toledo, for cuoppo and fried street food since 1750
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Grand Hotel Vesuvio — a grand seafront hotel with views of the bay and Vesuvius, since 1882
Romeo Hotel — a design hotel by the harbour, with a rooftop pool and bay views
Hotel Piazza Bellini — a boutique hotel in the historic centre, in a 16th-century building
Hotel Costantinopoli 104 — a charming garden hotel near the National Museum, good value
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
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