Author: Cheryl Brooks

As we discovered on our recent trip to the western side of the Bay of Naples, the area is full of surprises.  Every day we discovered ancient sites that have little or no information about them readily available.  Many of these were very large, and all fascinating.  Most were well presented, and certainly rewarding for those wanting to see ancient Roman archaeological sites other than Pompeii and Herculaneum.  Popular with Italians and other Europeans for its beaches, accommodation is reasonably plentiful and, needless to say, good trattoriae and ristorantes are everywhere.

We had long been curious about the Bay of Naples area to the west of Naples.  Although knowing the region’s ancient history, we had no idea whether there was anything to see nowadays.  Whether there were any significant archaeological sites, or was it going to turn out to be just a pile of old stones in the corner of a paddock, covered in straggly weeds.  We had visited Pompeii numerous times over the years, as well as having explored Herculaneum, and with relatively limited time we decided not to re-visit those, but to explore what else there is to see by way of remains of the ancient world.  What we discovered were some of the largest, most fascinating archaeological sites in Italy, and although all are “ruins”, they’re well looked-after and presented, and generally very accessible.  The area we set out to explore is collectively known as the Phlegraean Fields, location of probably the most overlooked ancient sites in the entire country.