Cholera struck the city hard in 1884 and the entire system was shut down, abandoning almost 2 million square meters of empty space, tunnels and cisterns.
During World War II, Naples was decimated by bombing. Almost completely destroyed. The tunnel system was reopened to protect the people - mostly women, children and old men - who used this system as their bomb shelters, and lived underground for up to 5 days at a time. Remnants remain of bombs.
There is no light once you get deep into the tunnel system, and we walk with candles.
Through corridors that are sometimes not wide enough except to walk sideways. The photo of us is on our way to the "exit through the gift shop!"
The relative humidity below ground is constant because we are so deep below the surface. Experiments are going on regarding food cultivation, because the temperature remains constant as well. These plants are never watered, and some can grow for up to 8 months before beginning to die off.
Well cleaners. What a horrible job in the last milennium. The photo below, this would have been filled with water up to the black square you see at the bottom, which leads to a cistern. Well-cleaners would put their feet in the square side carved steps to get down to the water source, and fish out large chunks by hand - branches, dead animals, that kind of thing.
The model of a well-cleaner's gear.
Back above ground, we are led around the corner to the beginnings of the excavation of a Roman Theatre. It's access lies just beneath a Neapolitan home still in use. Along Via Anticaglia, the streets curve in the shape of an amphitheatre, with exposed porticos connecting upper rooms. An antique law (1200-1300 maybe?) decreeing that all new builds had to remain within the city walls for protection saw homes built one on top of the other, so any Roman ruins that exist in Naples are far below the surface, with centuries of homes built atop. It makes excavation almost impossible as you would displace the current citizenry to get at the Roman times.
We enter the house, and are told the story of the woman's bed.see under the two legs, the ruts? This bed has been pushed back from the secret entrance underneath, the ruts are for speed and ease of push. This woman was a black marketer, and also smuggler and wine storer. Her cavern below here is massive and leads us to the portion of the amphitheatre ruins that have been excavated.
Emperor Nero performed in this amphitheatre, there are written references to his songs and speeches. His Greek Opera, that he wrote while in Naples, is the only one left in the Greek language.
In the excavated area, we enter a huge room, stone walls in varying patterns. 12 meters high, but only 150 sq meters, it is filled for one of the many things Naples is famous for (birth of pizza being its #1 claim), the Presepe. Roughly translated as Nativity Crib. These date from the 1700s, and during the 1800s this art form was in its golden age, including interest from King Charles III. The art form evolved from nativity scenes to biblical scenes to street life of Naples. It is a visual record in art of the life of Naples. Most are 4-5 feet high, the detail incredible.
Wire, jute, wood, pottery. Really, really beautiful. There is an entire area of Naples "the street of Presepe", where these are created and sold still today, to a global market.
Some of the oldest streets ever, the market stalls have been used for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. We find the section where all the used booksellers are!, and add 4 English books to our stock! We've been leaving behind our finished fiction and guides, on park benches, in our AirBnB apartments and trade-in spots.
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