Posillipo

Why should you go to Posillipo?

Posillipo was an imperial villa, it was left to the Emperor Augustus by Publius Vedus Pollio for the use of all future emperors. We know that the poet Virgil visited Augustus in this house and it is very likely that he stood and recited on the stage of the small theatre which can be seen on site. Augustus would have sat in the middle of the front row of seats. The position of the villa is stunning, on a headland with fabulous views. This is the villa in which Pollio, being a bit miffed that one of his slaves had broken a crystal cup whilst serving dinner, ordered that he should be fed to the lampreys which he kept in his private fish ponds. His guests were so appalled that they all dropped their food laden, gold plates into the fish tanks. Pollio felt obliged to reverse his decision. It should be noted that this story has a few variants and might not be the entire truth.

The site is massive, unfortunately only a very small portion of it has been excavated. You should not expect to see an imperial villa, just a few ruined rooms, two theatres and the most amazing views.

Another aspect of Posillipo is that it is approached by a 700 metre tunnel which is so big that it does not need the artificial lighting with which it has been fitted. This might appear to be extravagant until you recall that Roman waterproof concrete is made from pozzuoli which is a form of volcanic ash. Pollio would have needed lots of it for his fish tanks and probably took a few contracts to supply it elsewhere as well. The hill through which he tunnelled is mostly made of pozzuoli, the remainder being a limestone which is usable as building material.

Why are we not telling everyone to go there?

It is a tough journey and there are restricted opening times as a result of the need to walk through the tunnel. The tunnel is gated at both ends. At the time of writing (2022) the opening times vary with the day of the week so you need to check the website before visiting the site.

How to get there?

The train service to use is the Cumana Line from Montesanto Station in Naples. The station that you want is Bagnoli. There is then a mile and quarter walk to the entrance of the tunnel. The 700 metre tunnel follows and there is about 300 metres beyond that to get to a relatively limited site.

Leaving Bagnoli Station there are two streets across the road which passes in front of the station, take the right hand one and walk a short distance to a road which runs parallel to the sea. Turn left onto this road and proceed along it entirely across the floor of the valley in which you find yourself. As the road reaches the other side of the valley you will notice that it turns left and starts to zigzag up the side of the hill, there are steps which offer a shortcut up to the next level of the zigzag road. At the top of the second set of steps you will be facing the entrance to the tunnel. The entrance to the tunnel is enormous, you won't miss it.

Bagnoli is within the Naples conurbation so that, if you are using a Giornaliero (day ticket), it will be valid for this journey.

The author was at Bagnoli in 2018 but did not walk the full journey, it being too hot on that day.