Posillipo (; ) is an affluent residential quarter of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, southern Italy, located along the northern coast of the

Gulf of Naples The Gulf of Naples (), also called the Bay of Naples, is a roughly 15-kilometer-wide (9.3 mi) gulf located along the south-western coast of Italy (Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region). It opens to the west into the Mediterranean ...

. From the 1st century BC the Bay of Naples witnessed the rise of villas constructed by elite Romans along the most panoramic points of the coast, who had chosen the area as a favourite vacation spot. The remains of some of these, around the imperial pleasure

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

of the Roman emperors, as well as the Tunnel of Sejanus can be seen today in the ''Parco archeologico del Pausilypon'', or Pausilypon Archaeological Park, and elsewhere.

Geography

Posillipo is a rocky peninsula about 6 km long surrounded by cliffs with a few small coves with breakwaters at the western end of the Bay of Naples. These small harbours are the nuclei for separate, named communities such as Gaiola Island and Marechiaro.

History

Antiquity

Posillipo is mentioned in ancient Greek and Roman sources. As part of

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

, the

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

first named it ''Pausílypon'', meaning "respite from worry". The French Homeric scholar Victor Bérard identified Posillipo as the land of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Cyclopes In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''The ...

. From the 1st century BC the beautiful coastline of Campania attracted wealthy Romans as a place to build elaborate and grand villas as retreats. Of ancient Pausilypon the most visible ruins are those of the notorious villa of Vedius Pollio, later to become an imperial villa. The villa was described by the poet

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

as "like a city". Most notoriously, he kept a pool of

lamprey Lampreys (sometimes inaccurately called lamprey eels) are a group of Agnatha, jawless fish comprising the order (biology), order Petromyzontiformes , sole order in the Class (biology), class Petromyzontida. The adult lamprey is characterize ...

s into which slaves who incurred his displeasure would be thrown as food, a particularly unpleasant means of death, since the lamprey "clamps its mouth on the victim and bores a dentated tongue into the flesh to ingest blood". However, the emperor,

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, on visiting Pollio and witnessing the condemnation of a slave, took action against Pollio and saved the slave, an incident widely documented in writings of the era (see Vedius Pollio for more details). Vedius died in 15 BC and was probably forced to bequeath a large part of his estates, including the villa, to the emperor

. Although Augustus had Vedius' mansion in Rome razed, Pausilypon was rebuilt and extended to become a palace, which remained in imperial possession at least until the time of

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

Early modern period

Napoli - Parco archeologico del Pausilypon9

In the 17th century the property of the site of the imperial villa passed to the family Maza who, for several generations, showed an interest in archaeology and Francesco Maria Maza () was the author of inscriptions which he affixed to the so-called 'Piscine of V.Pollio' and to the 'Temple of Fortune' which were in situ as late as 1913. However the Maza collection was dispersed and the loss to archaeological science was irreparable as a catalogue had never been prepared. Several objects of art from Posillipan sites found their way into the hands of Spanish collectors, and are still no doubt among the Roman antiquities in Spain. Many fine pieces were taken to Mergellina and lost among the other ornaments of the villa of the Duke of Medina.

19th century

In 1820 the southern portion of the property was purchased by a well-known Neapolitan

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, ''cavaliere'' Guglielmo Bechi, and his name was associated with the Villa for more than half a century. He did much excavation, but again without publication of results. In 1841 more methodical excavations were begun on the adjoining property to the west of the ancient lane that led down the valley from the "Tunnel of Sejanus" to the sea. The principal buildings of that part of the Villa were soon brought to light; the Theatre, an Odeon, and the remains of a Portico overlooking the sea. An oblong building called the temple was also found along with the remains of an aqueduct. In about 1870 the Marchese del Tufo opened a quarry for

pozzolana Pozzolana or pozzuolana ( , ), also known as pozzolanic ash (), is a natural siliceous or siliceous- aluminous material which reacts with calcium hydroxide in the presence of water at room temperature (cf. pozzolanic reaction). In this reaction ...

clearing away the central part of what had been a broad continuous terrace along the south front of the property in Roman times. The buildings that stood on the hillside above the terrace, including the southern part of the baths, fell down the slope into the sea.

Roman Pausilypon

The archaeological park is one of the most beautiful places in the city and along the coast of Posillipo. Among the most important sites are the "cave of Sejanus", the underwater park of Gaiola, the imperial villa of Pausilypon (including the odeon, theatre) and the Palace of the Spirits.

Imperial villa

The ruins of the Roman villa of Vedius Pollio, also known as the Imperial Villa, include a 2000-seat theatre on the rocky promontory at the end of the Bay of Naples. Some of the villa's rooms can be seen with traces of the wall decorations while its marine structures and fish ponds are now part of the neighbouring submerged Gaiola Park. The villa was built in the first century BC by Publius Vedius Pollio. On his death in 15 BC, the villa was bequeathed to

, and remained in imperial possession for his successors at least until Hadrian, as witnessed by a stamped water pipe. In various points the presence of water supply pipes (coated with hydraulic mortar) show the opulence of the facilities. The George Vallet Archaeological museum in

Sorrento Sorrento ( , ; ; ) is a City status in Italy, city and overlooking the Gulf of Naples, Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the southern terminus of a main branch o ...

has a model of the villa.

Tunnel of Sejanus

Access for visitors to the ruins of the imperial villa is currently through the Tunnel of Sejanus. Seiano tunnel 2

The extraordinary 770 metre-long ''Grotta di Seiano'' or "cave of Sejanus" passes beneath the Posillipo hill and connected the imperial villa and other patrician villas nearby with the

Phlegraean Fields The Phlegraean Fields (, ; ) is a large volcano, volcanic caldera west of Naples, Italy. The Neapolitan Yellow Tuff eruption (about 12ka BP) produced just 50 cubic kilometers. It is, however, one of relatively few volcanoes large enough to f ...

and the towns and ports of

Puteoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Antiquity Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia ...

(

Pozzuoli Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula. History Antiquity Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia ...

) and

Cumae Cumae ( or or ; ) was the first ancient Greek colony of Magna Graecia on the mainland of Italy and was founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BCE. It became a rich Roman city, the remains of which lie near the modern village of ...

. It owes its name to Lucius Aelius Seianus (

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus ( – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, the imperia ...

), prefect of the emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

, who according to tradition commissioned its enlargement in the first century AD; the first tunnel was built 50 years earlier by architect Cocceius Auctus at the behest of Agrippa. The eastern entrance is cut into the rock cliff within the archaeological park while the western entrance was a monumental arch with ''

opus reticulatum ''Opus reticulatum'' (also known as reticulate work) is a facing used for concrete walls in Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture from about the first century BCE to the early first century CE. Facings are a type of polygonal masonry us ...

'' lining the cliff sides, and both ends being of about 14 m height. The height, width and length of the tunnel made it a great engineering achievement and an extravagant one considering it served only a small population. An enormous volume of rock alone had to be removed though some served as building material for the villas. The tunnelling was complicated by the alternation of pozzolanic earth with tufa necessitating the elaborate lining of most of the tunnel with stonework of ''opus reticulatum'' and then with vaulting on top of these walls. Work progressed at 5–7 m per day as indicated by the joints between sections. It was not perfectly straight in plan but included small deviations near the centre where the tunnellers from each end met after remarkably small inaccuracies of alignment given the techniques of the time. It had three secondary side tunnels ending in openings overhanging the bay to provide light and ventilation. Although known about by scholars (for example it is referred to in the Polish writer

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

's epic ''

Pan Tadeusz ''Pan Tadeusz'' (full title: ''Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse'') is an epic poem by the Polish people, Polish poet, writer, translator and philosopher Adam Micki ...

'' published in 1834), it had fallen into disuse over the centuries. it was rediscovered during works for a new road in 1841 and immediately brought to light and made passable by

Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand II (; ; ; 12 January 1810 – 22 May 1859) was King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death in 1859. Family Ferdinand was born in Palermo to King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Maria Isabella of Spain. ...

, becoming a tourist destination. Additional lining and arches were built to repair and reinforce the ancient walls. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was used as an

air raid shelter Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack (but ...

for the inhabitants of

Bagnoli Bagnoli is a western seaside quarter of Naples, Italy, well beyond the confines of the original city. It is beyond Cape Posillipo and, thus, looking on the coast of the Bay of Pozzuoli. Industrialization and World War II Bagnoli was on ...

; the war and landslides during the 1950s took it back to a state of neglect since when it was restored.

Other sights

The remains of other Roman houses can be seen in Marechiaro along the beach, or at Calata Ponticello where there is an Ionic column base and a brick niche. On the cliff towards Gaiola are the remains of the "House of the Spirits" also called "Villarosa" which was the

nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' (Latin : ''nymphaea'') or ''nymphaion'' (), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

of the villa and also built in the first century BC. Further along the coast to the west is the perimeter of the "School of Virgil" where it was believed that the "prophet" practised magical arts. The grandeur and luxury of these villas are documented in the George Vallet Archaeological museum. The

Roman aqueduct The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported min ...

supplying the coastal villas was a branch of the Serino aqueduct or ''Aqua Augusta'' and was discovered in 1882 when the Grotta Nuova di Posillipo was made for a tramway through the hill. Ancient inscriptions found inside the tunnel verify that it fed the villa of Felix Pollio, among others, mainly intended for the

and the baths.

Modern developments

The area remained largely undeveloped until a road, via Posillipo, was built between 1812 and 1824. That road starts at sea level at the Mergellina harbour and moves up the coast, roughly parallel to the shore. The artistic School of Posillipo was started by Antonie Sminck Pitloo, painting marine shore landscapes from the area. The submerged parts of the ruins of the imperial villa and the rich and diverse marine and coastal natural environment can be seen via boat excursions. The area has been heavily overbuilt since the end of World War II, but contains some notable historical buildings and landmarks. Among these is the Villa Rosebery, the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

's residence during his stays in Naples. It also contains a Mausoleum to those who died for their country, the Mausoleo Schilizzi.

Sports

Posillipo has given its name to Naples' waterpolo team, Circolo Nautico Posillipo. The neighbourhood was seat of the homonymous circuit which hosted the Grand Prix of Naples between 1933 and 1962.

Famous residents

* Maradona. * Posillipo is the birthplace of Franco Alfano, the Italian composer and pianist best known for completing ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

''. * Giuseppe Angrisani, young entrepreneur and finance expert, lived in Posillipo until 2015, when he started his career in Monaco and then Luxembourg. * Franco Ambrosio, the wheat magnate, lived in Posillipo until his death in 2009. *

. * George Norman Douglas (1868–1952) Scottish travel and novel writer. In 1897 lived in Villa Maya, Posillipo. *

. *

Giambattista Basile Giambattista Basile ( – 23 February 1632) was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector. His collections include the oldest recorded forms of many well-known (and more obscure) European fairy tales. He is chiefly remembered for writi ...

was born in Posillipo in 1575. It is also the setting of one of his first works ''Le Avventurose Disavventure'' (The Adventurous Misadventures) published in 1611. *

Sándor Márai (; Archaic English name: Alexander Márai; 11 April 1900 – 21 February 1989) was a Hungarian people, Hungarian writer, poet, and journalist. Biography Márai was born on 11 April 1900 in the city of Košice, Kassa, Kingdom of Hungary, Hun ...

, the author of '' Embers'', lived in Posillipo between 1948 and 1952; his novel " San Gennaro vére" ("Blood of San Gennaro") is set in Naples. * It may well also have been the residence of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

, the Roman poet of, most famously, the '

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'. * Vedius Pollio. * Sigismund Thalberg. * Domenico Barbaia, Italian opera

impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

died here in 1841. *

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

completed "The Ballad of Reading Gaol" while residing in Posillipo in 1897.

Gallery

File:Baia di Trentaremi 1.JPG, Glimpse of bay Trentaremi File:Palazzo Donn'Anna e Bagno Elena (2007).jpg, Palazzo Donn'Anna, one of the buildings on the sea File:VillePos.jpg, Posillipo coast from Via Posillipo File:Capo Posillipo visto da Nisida.jpg, Cape Posillipo File:Parco Sommerso di Gaiola. (9462).JPG, The islet of Gaiola File:VesuviovistodaMarechiaroaNapoli7.jpg, Scoglione di Marechiaro File:Marechiaro verso Nisida, Lo Scoglione con Vesuvio sullo sfondo.jpg, Scoglione di Marechiaro

References

External links

Entry on "Posillipo"
from Naples Encyclopedia (archived) {{coord, 40, 48, 20, N, 14, 12, 12, E, region:IT-NA_type:mountain, display=title Roman villas in Italy Archaeological sites in Naples Posillipo Phlegraean Fields