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PozzuoliPozzuoli's popularity is nowadays referable to the renowned restaurants and important ichthyic market, but a few people know that Pozzuoli is one of the four cities in the world - with Budapest, Metz and Petronell - to have two Roman amphitheatres. The city is located onto the homonym gulf, nearby Naples and a fascinating volcanic area known as Phlegrean Fields (meaning Burning Fields), including the dormant Volcano Solfatara. Pozzuoli undergoes a particular geo-seismic phenomenon called bradyseism: the gradual uplift or descent of the Earth's crust caused by the filling or emptying of a hydrothermal activity. The quick raising of the sea-level involved the port during the 80's, so that it was repositioned 50 metres further the previous collocation. Pozzuoli was founded in 529 BC for want of the Greek group of Samii and named Dicearchia (right government). In 421 BC it fell into the Samnites' hands, but in 228 BC, after the Roman conquest of Campania, Dicearchia was "rebaptised" as Puteoli and became more and more important thanks to the great port: main commercial basis and core of the economic development of Roman Empire. Pozzuoli was linked to the capital as well as the biggest cities in Campania and the most flourishing Eastern maritime cities established a commercial station here. The slow decline unfortunately started in 70 AC, because of the port opened in Ostia (close to Rome), built for want of the Roman Emperor Claudius and finished by Nero. The gradual coastline sinking, caused by the bradyseism, forced the locals to leave the lower part of the city and move towards the current Rione Terra, which was bounded with thick walls and turned into "Castrum Puteolanum". At the beginning of the XVI century, Pozzuoli was shocked by violent tremors, so that the people moved again outside the walls, founding a new hamlet close by the sea, called Tripergole. A disastrous earthquake destroyed the village of Tripergole, in the night between 29th and 30th September 1538. The Earth surface crashed and erupted so much material to form a new hill, later named Monte Nuovo (New Mountain). During the Second World War the city was bombed because of the port (that provided war ships with petrol), the company Gio. Ansaldo & C. S.A.S. (which dealt with air forces and aircraft weapons) and the very important railway line Naples-Rome, that crossed Pozzuoli. Rione Terra has been finally abandoned during the 70’s and is still under repair. The city has been rebuilt weaving together old and new. Among modern buildings you will be able to admire fabulous ancient witnesses of a glorious past. The must-see sites:
From the port there are regular ferries and hydrofoils to easily reach the islands of Ischia and Procida. Other towns in the area: Avellino, Bacoli, Benevento, Caserta, Castel Volturno, Cava de' Tirreni, Naples, Salerno, Sant'Agata de' GotiYou might also be interested in reading about the following Pozzuoli topics:
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