Welcome to the site Napoliforme

Perched on the tuffaceous promontory at the centre of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, it is the acropolis of the ancient city, surrounded on three sides by the sea, and part of the Roman defence system. With the crisis of the Empire and the beginning of the barbarian incursions, it is the area of refuge where the medieval town developed: a fortified citadel ('Terra') superimposed on the urban fabric of Roman Puteoli, preserved intact underground and revealed by archaeological excavations. The remains of the city's road network, warehouses and numerous structures follow one another in a fascinating hidden trail. The decumanus of Via Duomo, with its paving beneath the modern road that faithfully follows its course, is the connecting road to the flat area in front of the Rione Terra hill. Excavations have located another decumanus, tangent to the rear side of the Cathedral of St Prokulus, and along the underground route buildings, warehouses and tabernae can be recognised. The underground street is partly occupied by a fountain, of which the cocciopesto base remains; and another fountain, in the shape of a horseshoe, with the feeding mouths on the sides in the form of masks, is at the meeting point between via Duomo, the decumanus maximus, and the hinge that intersects it. Along the ancient street, replicated on the surface by the route of via San Procolo, are some public buildings, the baths and some tabernae.Among the Roman artefacts found in the Rione Terra area (some of which are on display in the Archaeological Museum of the Phlegraean Fields in the Castle of Baia) are bull's head and calf's head marble corbels and decorative fragments from the Augustan temple, as well as mosaics, sculptures and reliefs from public and private buildings in the district, a statue of Persephone, a head inspired by Phidias' Athena Lemnia: 'pagan' masterpieces that in the 17th century Bishop Martín de León y Cárdenas ordered to be placed in underground chambers near the temple-cathedral.