Welcome to the site Napoliforme

Called by the ancients "Hephaestus' agora" or "Vulcan's hole", it was described in the first century A.D., already famous for its sulphurous vapours, by Petronius in the Satyricon. It is the still active volcano of the Phlegraean Fields, epicentre of the phenomenon of bradyseism: the raising and lowering of the ground in the Phlegraean area due to the greater or lesser pressure exerted by the incandescent magma below the earth's surface. The Solfatara is now a natural oasis, part of the Phlegraean Fields Regional Park, with an extension of about 33 hectares and its charm remains unchanged. The vapours rising from the fumaroles (natural sources of water vapour, the Bocca Grande being the main one) at a temperature of 160°C with a pungent smell and the earth tinged with sulphur; the mofettes (sources of carbon dioxide); the mud volcanoes (jets of hot mud, such as the Fangaia, with temperatures varying from less than 100°C to 250°C at depth) and the thermo-mineral water springs (the Pozzo is the main spring, 'fishing' at a depth of about 10 metres for mineralised water with an acid lemon flavour); the old Stufe, ancient cavities dug into the tufa rock that were once used as natural saunas, still amaze and impress with the arid and ghostly appearance of the crater, contrasting with the wooded areas and Mediterranean scrub that surround it. An enthralling walk among singular volcanic phenomena, woods (chestnut, holm oak, robiniae and eucalyptus with ferns and butcher's broom), Mediterranean shrubs (with heather, downy oaks, broom, myrtle, rockrose, arbutus, strawberry tree, pine), spring orchids (heart serapis and greater serapis) and small songbirds typical of the Mediterranean maquis (nightingales, finches, shrikes, blackbirds). Information boards and didactic panels accompany visitors and a tree-lined refreshment area and children's playground offer a quiet break at the end of the trail.