Cumae
The earliest Greek settlement on the Italian mainland was home to the enigmatic and influential oracle, the Cumaean Sibyl, from whom Tarquinius was said to have purchased the Sibylline Books, which became the guiding inspiration for the Republic. The Cumaean Sibyl features famously in Virgil's Aeneid when Aeneas comes to Cumae to consult the Sibyl. The relevant lines from Virgil are now posted on either side of the entrance to the grotto.
Sito Archeologico Di Cumae:
(Via Monte di Cuma) M & W-Sun. 9 am - 1 hour before sunset.
Charge. The best-known feature is the Grotto of the Sibyl,
discovered only in 1932. The entrance is a 131 meter-long gallery
excavated out of a solid mass of volcanic tufa. It is by no means
certain that there was ever an Apollonian oracle at Cumae, although an
inscription on a bronze plaque refers to an oracle associated with Hera.
It is possible that the cave was used for military purposes. Steps
lead up from here to the main part of the site, the fortified acropolis.
There are fairly scanty ruins of an archaic fifth-century Greek temple to
Apollo, overlain by Roman modifications, and then by a sixth-century
Christian basilica. The highest point of the site has a Temple of
Jupiter. Combined ticket available with Paro Archeologico delle
Terme di Baia, Museo Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei in Baia; and
Anfiteatro Flavio in Pozzuoli (valid for 48 hours) The P12-R bus
service connects Cumae, with Pozzuoli's Via Rona and the Cumana rail line
to Pozzuoli and Naples. EAV bus from Fusaro's Cumana station.
A short walk from the bus or Circumflegrea stop.
Review Of Cumae, Trip Advisor:
To the west of Naples lie the fabled Phlegrean Fields, or Campi Flegrei. These volcanic craters, hot springs and fumaroles were mythologized by Homer as the entrance to Hades, and by Virgil as the Forum of Vulcan, the god of fire. The last eruption in the Phlegraean Fields took place in 1538. It threw up Monte Nuovo in the space of a single night.
Pozzuoli was at one time the principal port of Rome. Almost all the ancient town is now under water.
Santuario di San Gennaro:
(Via San Gennaro alta Solfafara) M-Th, Sat & Sun 9am - Noon, 4:30
- 7 pm; F 4:30 - 7 pm. Free. A three-minute walk further up
the hill from the Solfatara is the 16th century Santuario di San Gennaro,
built on the supposed site of the final martyrdom of Naples's patron
saint under Diocletian.
Lake Avernus
Lago d'Averno is the Lake Avernus of antiquity, a volcanic crater that the Greeks believed to be the entrance to Hades. Lago Di Averno occupies the bottom of an almost circular crater (over half a mile in diameter) formed nearly 3,800 years ago during an extremely violent eruption. The Greek name Aornos is generally taken to mean "without birds" because of gaseous fumes given off by its dark, muddy waters. Sacrifices were regularly made here to chthonic deities that lurked beneath the murky surface.
Seven kilometers along the coast from Pozzuoli is a small seaside town with a set of imperial-era Roman ruins piled up on the hill above. It was the most fashionable resort on the Bay of Naples. Most prominent members of the Roman aristocracy had luxurious villas built here. The name is said to derive from Baius, one of Odysseus's companions, who died here. Emperor Hadrian died here in 138 CE and Nero was rumoured to have had his mother Agrippina murdered nearby.
Museo Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei: Many of the finds from Baia and around have found their way into the Museo Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei, housed in part of the town's mammoth 15th-century Aragonese castle.
Oplontis
Ten minutes or so beyond Ercolano on the Circumvesuviana line is the coastal town of Torre Annunziata. This is home to the Villa Poppea, a well-preserved Roman patrician villa that's part of a complex of Roman buildings known as Oplontis. The pictorial decorations of the rooms are among the most remarkable in the region of Vesuvius. It probably belonged to Nero's second wife Poppea. It is worth visiting if you have already seen its better-known neighbours. See Wikipedia.
Perhaps the best choice after Pompeii and Herculaneum. A grouping of ancient villas located in the hills above Castellamare di Stabia. W-M 9am -7 pm. See Pompeii Sites.
During the reign of Augustus, when an alternative had to be found for Portus Julius, Misenum was the obvious choice. The site was named after Misenus, another of Odysseus' companions, or according to Virgil) the trumpeter of Aeneas.
Ischia
Ischia is the largest of the islands in the Bay of Naples. The island is essentially a long-inactive volcano (last known eruption 1301). The area became an important part of Magna Graecia (Greater Greece). Colonies from Greek city-states in Euboea established themselves on Ischia, which they called Pithekoussai. The island was the first and northernmost Greek settlement in the West.
Museo Archeologico Di Pithecusae: (Lacco Ameno -- Villa Arbusto, Corso Angelo Rizzoli) -- Sun & M 9 am - 1 pm; Tues. - Sat. 9 am - 1 pm & 5 - 7:45 pm. Bus #1, #2 or #3 from Ischia Porto and Casamicciola. A few minutes; walk uphill from the main square. This is where the ancient Greek acropolis once stood. The 18th century Villa Arbusto houses the museum, consisting of well-displayed finds from the acropolis of Monte di Vico, in continuous use from the 8th to the 1st centuries BCE. The most celebrated piece is the co-called Coppa di Nestore (Nestor's Cup), a typical 8th century BCE pottery drinking cup, probably made on the island of Rhodes. The inscription is one of the earliest known examples of writing in the Greek alphabet.
Castello Aragonese: (Ischia Ponte) 9 am - 8:30 pm. The castle crowns an offshore volcanic outcrop about 113 meters high. The most famous occupant was the Renaissance poet Vittoria Colonna.