ATTENTION: THIS POST WAS REALIZED BEFORE THE TRAGEDY OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 AND THE SEALS APPLIED BY THE JURISDICTION TO THE SOLFATARA SITE ON OCTOBER 26, 2017. WE LEAVE THE CONTENT OF THE POST UNCHANGED IN THE HOPE THAT ONE DAY THE SOLFATARA MAY BE ABSOLUTELY SAFE.
Phlegraean Fields: a name that evokes fire (this whole area west of Naples is in fact a large quiescent volcanic caldera) and the luxury of the villas and spas that the ancient Romans built in the area and of which many testimonies remain. Impossible to concentrate everything in a single itinerary, so let's start with this first stage which starts from the Solfatara (*) (www.vulcanosolfatara.it). It is actually a volcano, whose activity is carried out through the so-called fumaroles and boiling mud tubs; the tour is almost completely accessible for the disabled (info at the ticket office). The visits can be free or guided, for groups, and are extremely suggestive, both during the day and in the evening.
Leaving the Solfatara you can head towards the town of Pozzuoli; the first attraction that can be visited is the Flavian Amphitheater, the third largest in ancient Rome. The tour is all accessible for the disabled, with the exception of the underground. The website is: http://www.pafleg.it/it/4388/localit/66/anfiteatro-flavio
Going then to the port of Pozzuoli, you can park in the appropriate spaces, take a ride to the marina under the Rione Terra and then head to the so-called Temple of Serapis, which takes its name from the discovery of a statue of the Egyptian god but which was actually the Roman Macellum, that is to say the market (http://www.pafleg.it/it/4388/localit/67/macellum-tempio-di-serapide). The columns of the Macellum are a singular gauge of the bradyseismic activity of the area: in fact, the traces of marine molluscs are visible on them, when the soil was several meters below sea level.
And this is the reconstruction of the Temple of Serapis in the model found in the Archaeological Museum of the Phlegraean Fields in the Castle of Baia:
Let's take a look now at the small port below the Rione Terra, the ancient acropolis of the Greek city, which was evacuated overnight due to the bradyseism of 1970. In recent years the district has been the subject of an impressive restoration work which has brought to light important Roman remains; it is hoped that it will also be made accessible for people with disabilities:
For lunch you can stop at any of the restaurants on the port, all of excellent quality and medium-high prices, many accessible by chair but none, among those we visited, equipped with toilets for the disabled. Otherwise you can take the car back and, a few kilometers from the port of Pozzuoli, arrive at the lake of Lucrino where we find a more demanding restaurant, but with the requisites we need: Akademia (*): Via Lucrino Averno 1, Pozzuoli +39 081 19309424 https://www.facebook.com/akademiacucina
Alternatively we find, still in the Lucrino area, cheaper but without services for the disabled: La cucina di Ruggiero: Via Lungo Lago Lucrino 3, Pozzuoli +39 081 8687473
(*) symbol indicating the presence of toilets equipped for the disabled
Being in the area, you can extend 1 km to Lake Averno, also of volcanic origin, which for the ancients was one of the entrances to hell and where you can make a partial tour (by car or on foot) and stop in a few bars on the lake.
the so-called Temple of Apollo, actually a Roman thermal establishment:
