The vast area of Campi Flegrei (from the Greek flègo, "I burn”) in the Gulf of Pozzuoli, north of Naples, bordered by the hill of Posillipo to the south and Lake Patria to the north, is characterised by intense volcanic activity.
The area has a multitude of historically and culturally interesting sites including the Aragonese Castle of Baia, which houses a museum today; the Thermal Baths of Baia, a favourite holiday place for the Roman aristocracy; the ancient cisterns of the Piscina Mirabilis and the Cento Camerelle, also known as “Nero’s prisons”; and the Cave of the Cumaean Sibyl, where the priestess would pronounce her oracles.
Various legends are set in Campi Flegrei: here the Giants were defeated by the gods of Olympus; Typhon lived beneath the island of Pitecusa and the dark people of the Cimmeri beneath Lake Averno which was the location for one of the gates to the underworld. This was also the setting for various episodes of Homer’s poems and Virgil’s Aeneid.
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Film Commission Regione Campania
Piazza G. Bovio, 14 — 80133 Napoli
Phone: +39 0814206091
Fax: +39 0817904221
Email: info@fcrc.it
