San Paolo Maggiore

Underground Naples. The ground beneath Naples is honeycombed with open spaces, most purposely constructed. These spaces served different purposes at different times.
About the 3rd century BCE, during the Greek period, these excavations were begun as quarries to extract the tufa, a firm of porous limestone. The tufa is the original building material of Neapolis (the original Greek name for this place that morphed over time onto Napoli). The 1st picture is a reconstruction of the quarrying operation. Workers were lowered into the quarry and blocks of tufa we're lifted out using a simple hoist that is represented hanging in the upper right of the picture.
During the Roman period, the tunnels were expanded as part of the largest aqueduct system in the Roman empire, at least of what has been found so far. This aqueduct is about 400 km long. It consists of tunnels to move the water and cisterns for storage. This water supply system remained in use until late in the 19th century when it was shut down due to a cholera epidemic. Any system operational for 2,000 years is extraordinary.
The 2nd picture is in one of the tunnels. The Roman engineers knew how to channel the water at different depths and flow rates to get it where they needed it, even being able to get water to a slightly higher elevation..
The 3rd, 4th and 5th pictures are in cisterns: 1 dry; the others with water. Notice in the 5th picture that there is an amphora hanging from the rope coming down from the opening in the ceiling. This is how water was obtained by the people of the city.
The 3rd use of the tunnels was as air raid shelters during world war 2. There are still some remnants such as washrooms and artifacts like toys and living materials that can bee seen.
The last picture is somewhat different. This is an entrance to a Roman theater that was buried and has been built upon, including buildings that are still occupied. So this is not excavated nor likely to be. But several spaces are available to see parts of the ancient structure as well as how it has been used, even including windows in residences.Read more