Campania - Art and Culture

Campania in the Mediterranean was a crossroads between ancient Greece, civilized Egypt and mighty Rome, and a true melting pot of civilisations, which has left clear traces on what is today regarded as one of the most important archaeological sites in Italy. The fusing of different cultures, re­sulting from a succession of various dominations, can be seen by visiting the subsoil of Naples, which is rich in caves, wells and aqueducts: just a few metres beneath the road sur­face of the modern city, you can find three more perfectly preserved ancient urban layers. Thousands of masterpieces and precious treasures are kept in the National Archaeologi­cal Museum (which is undoubtedly the most important in Europe): gigantic statues, bright mosaics, unique paintings, Egyptian mummies and gold and jewels. But history comes overbearingly to light not just in Naples. To the west of the city we can find the Phlaegrean Fields. The term "Phlaegre-an" means burning and evidences the volcanic nature of this area. The Romans exploited the numerous therapeutic min­eral springs, leaving traces of ports, spas, villas and temples in this area (Pozzuoli, Cuma, Bacoli, Baia, Miseno). Benevento preserves a splendid theatre that is still in use today and which dates back to the Roman period, as well as an histori­cal arch of triumph, whereas in Santa Maria Capua Vetere (Caserta) there stands the greatest Roman amphitheatre (af­ter the Colosseum), which can hold over 40 thousand specta­tors. To the south, just a few kilometres from Naples at the foot of Vesuvius, we can find ancient cities that have sur­vived the course of time, which were built by man and wiped out - but immortalised - by the fiery strength of the volcano. First, there is Pompeii, the most fa­mous "dead city" in the world, which was buried by the tragic eruption of 79 A.D., when the ground shook for three days, and the sky belched forth acid smoke and rained fire, killing the inhabitants as they fled, or suffocating them in their homes. Today, Pompeii is so well preserved that it only seems to have been deserted for a few days: you could quite easily imagine one of its ancient inhabitants turning up at any minute and carrying on with his daily business! This ghost town offers those wishing to visit an exciting and unique journey: there are houses, taverns, inns and shops to visit; re-tracing the roads paved with lava stone; it is even pos­sible to read the ancient Roman in­scriptions and "advertising signs". Herculaneum is another victim of the same eruption, which has brought to light a fortune from under the lava and mud: splendid and elegant noble build­ings (and even better preserved than in Pom­peii), galleries, pillars, statues, mosaics and al­most two thousand pre­cious papyri. And lastly, again in the same area, we can find three other towns that shared the same fate as Pompeii, Boscoreale, Stabia and Opionti; today these towns can offer particularly interesting antique exca­vations and museums. Continuing further south, after Saler­no, in the hot Cilento sun, there are the ruins of Paestum, which offer us an exceptionally impressive sight, which no visitor will ever forget: a great boundary wall that is almost 5 km. Long and still intact, surrounds three majestic Doric temples, which testify to the wisdom, skill and taste of the Greek architects. Not even in Athens is it possible to find ru­ins as large and well preserved as these! Not far from here you can make out another Greek colony, Velia, which was founded over 2500 years ago in the wake of the ancient mysterious prophecy of a Greek oracle. Here in this town of philosophers, merchants and fishermen, Xenophanes, one of the great philosophers of ancient times, was born, who is said to have founded the famous Eleatic school, which received contributions from many other illustrious thinkers. The excavations, which are still in progress, are slowly bring­ing to light this rich and noble town's plan and its most im­portant monuments; the town, which loved art and music and kept out of wars and battles, also traded with peoples from all over the Mediterranean thanks to its two ports, en­abling it to prosper.