Description
The Grotta di Seiano is a 770-meter Roman tunnel cut into the tuff of the Posillipo hill, in Naples, leading to the Pausilypon archaeological park: the remains of a great imperial villa with a theater, an odeon and baths, overlooking the sea between the bay of Trentaremi and the Gaiola.
The park entrance is from Discesa Coroglio, right through the grotto.
The tunnel links the Bagnoli plain with the Gaiola valley, passing through the bay of Trentaremi, in a straight line. From the south wall three shafts branch off and end in openings that hang over the bay, bringing in light and air.
The first tunnel was cut by the architect Lucius Cocceius Auctus for Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, to connect the villa of Pollio and the other villas to the ports of Pozzuoli and Cumae. The name comes from Sejanus, Tiberius' prefect who, according to tradition, commissioned its widening.
Beyond the grotto you reach the villa of Pausilypon, whose name means "respite from pain". You can see the 2,000-seat theater, the odeon and some reception rooms, with traces of wall decoration and the pipes of the aqueduct.
From the viewpoints high above the sea you look out over the gulf, Vesuvius, the Sorrento peninsula and Capri. The villa's maritime structures continue underwater and are part of the Gaiola submerged park, a marine protected area since 2002.
The master of the house had a dreadful reputation: it was said he fed his moray eels with slaves who made mistakes. His name was Publius Vedius Pollio, a very rich Roman knight who, after the Battle of Actium, decided to spend his last days here.
On his death, in 15 BC, the villa became the residence of Augustus and his successors. The last to live in it was Hadrian. A little farther on, on the coast, stands the Palazzo degli Spiriti, which some thought was a moray pond: today young people dive from its windows.
The park is also looked after with guided visits and workshops for schools, and is being rediscovered by foreign tourists as well as by Neapolitans. The landscape is one of the most beautiful on the Posillipo coast.
The grotto fell out of use and was forgotten. It was found again by chance during work on a new road, in 1841, and Ferdinand II had it reopened. During the war it was an air-raid shelter for the people of Bagnoli; the park has been open to visitors since 2009.
Don't miss
• The Grotta di Seiano.
• The theater.
• The viewpoints over the Gaiola submerged park.
• The Palazzo degli Spiriti.
Did you know?
• It is told that, during a banquet, Augustus saved from the morays a slave who had broken a crystal goblet: he had all the others smashed.
• Along the coast is also the "School of Virgil", where the poet was believed to have practiced magic arts.
The park entrance is from Discesa Coroglio, right through the grotto.
The tunnel links the Bagnoli plain with the Gaiola valley, passing through the bay of Trentaremi, in a straight line. From the south wall three shafts branch off and end in openings that hang over the bay, bringing in light and air.
The first tunnel was cut by the architect Lucius Cocceius Auctus for Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, to connect the villa of Pollio and the other villas to the ports of Pozzuoli and Cumae. The name comes from Sejanus, Tiberius' prefect who, according to tradition, commissioned its widening.
Beyond the grotto you reach the villa of Pausilypon, whose name means "respite from pain". You can see the 2,000-seat theater, the odeon and some reception rooms, with traces of wall decoration and the pipes of the aqueduct.
From the viewpoints high above the sea you look out over the gulf, Vesuvius, the Sorrento peninsula and Capri. The villa's maritime structures continue underwater and are part of the Gaiola submerged park, a marine protected area since 2002.
The master of the house had a dreadful reputation: it was said he fed his moray eels with slaves who made mistakes. His name was Publius Vedius Pollio, a very rich Roman knight who, after the Battle of Actium, decided to spend his last days here.
On his death, in 15 BC, the villa became the residence of Augustus and his successors. The last to live in it was Hadrian. A little farther on, on the coast, stands the Palazzo degli Spiriti, which some thought was a moray pond: today young people dive from its windows.
The park is also looked after with guided visits and workshops for schools, and is being rediscovered by foreign tourists as well as by Neapolitans. The landscape is one of the most beautiful on the Posillipo coast.
The grotto fell out of use and was forgotten. It was found again by chance during work on a new road, in 1841, and Ferdinand II had it reopened. During the war it was an air-raid shelter for the people of Bagnoli; the park has been open to visitors since 2009.
Don't miss
• The Grotta di Seiano.
• The theater.
• The viewpoints over the Gaiola submerged park.
• The Palazzo degli Spiriti.
Did you know?
• It is told that, during a banquet, Augustus saved from the morays a slave who had broken a crystal goblet: he had all the others smashed.
• Along the coast is also the "School of Virgil", where the poet was believed to have practiced magic arts.