Pozzuoli

September 12 , 2015

The Saturday Night Session of the Rome West Stake Conference was held in Pozzuoli.  Until a few months ago, we held zone conference there.  Since the Napoli Branch has moved to a new location, it is more convenient to hold it in Napoli. 

POZZUOLI

Founded as the Greek Cumaean colony known as Dicaearchia, the bustling port town of Pozzuoli thrived during Roman times when it was known as Puteoli. Its name derives from the abundance of thermal and mineral springs as well sulfurous springs whose unmistakable odour permeated the area (and still does), mostly from the Solfatara. Whether it comes from the Latin putere – to stink  or the Greek “Pyteolos” meaning “little wells” however, is unclear.

St. Paul docked at Pozzuoli and stayed for seven days before making the arduous journey to Rome along the Appian way. A few centuries later, Naples Patron Saint, San Gennaro was martyred at the amphitheater in Pozzuoli.

And of course, Sophia Loren lived in the vicinity with her grandmother when bombs rained down during World War II.

Tragedy struck again in October of 1983 when an earthquake damaged thousands of structures and displaced nearly 40,000 residents.
 
Today, contemporary blends with the ancient world. Signs along Pozzuoli’s roads will point you to a number of Roman ruins. The Temple of Neptune overlooks the sea with its mammoth dome peeking out from the dirt. Other signs lead through a narrow tunnel and then along a road next to the Neocropoli Romana. Hidden behind overgrown weeds, the locals walk by this ancient cemetery as though the ghosts inside are simply amicable neighbors. Further up the hill is the Flavian Amphitheater and near the waters edge, are the remains the old Roman marketplace, better known as the Temple of Serapis.

Pozzuoli is known for the odd habit the city has of slowly rising, sinking, then rising again in its entirity--an effect called bradyism that is caused by the underlying volcanic activity (the city has risen over 11 feet in the past 30 years).

*  *  *  *  *

Temple of Serapide

In a palm-shaded and sunken park at the center of town by the harbor lies the romantically half-flooded "Temple of Serapide." This is not actually a temple as was long believed, but rather the marketplace of the AD 1st-century city, marked by three standing columns and a ring of column stubs surrounding a raised circular dais.

You can see evidence of bradyism at work here: those columns were once further under the water that still pools at the bottom of this archaeological site. The bottom 10 feet of column were buried under the mud of the sea floor (and hence are smooth), the next six feet or so were underwater (hence the pockmarks left by clinging mollusks) and the rest stuck above into clean air (smooth again). The columns (along with the rest of town) probably heaved those 16 feet up during a nearby eruption in 1538.

Temple of Serapide

*  *  *  *  *

Paul Landed in Pozzuoli

The next day a wind began to blow from the south, and in two days we came 

to the town of Puteoli. We found some believers there who asked us to stay 

with them a week. And so we came to Rome.
(Acts 28:13-14 on Saint Paul’s journey to Rome to stand trial.)

Steeple of church erected where Paul landed.

Marker on spot where Paul landed.

*  *  *  *  *

Temple of Neptune

This rather impressive, although pretty much ruined, structure is tucked away in the upper part of Pozzuoli. Its size, along with the huge amphitheatre and the fact that much of excavated the Roman town lies some distance away, gives clear indication of just what a wealthy and busy place this once was.

Apron Tradition

April 7, 2014

It's become a tradition that we buy aprons from each of the areas in our mission.  They hang on a knob in the kitchen and whoever helps in the kitchen puts one on.  The missionaries like to choose one from their favorite area of service.  During the last departure dinner, all the missionaries decided to wear the aprons during their final dinner at the villa.  It's a goofy, but fun thing to do.  When we were in Pozzouli, we walked past a store that sold chef jackets.  We couldn't resist the opportunity to add a chef jacket to the collection.

Church of Paul

April 7, 2014

Acts 28:13-14

And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium:  and after one day the

 south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli.

Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days:  and so we 

went toward Rome.

* * * * *

In bible days Pozzouli was known as Puteoli.  Paul landed on the shore close to where a church was later built and dedicated to St. Paul.  It is now known as the Church of Paul.

Pozzouli Ampitheatre

April 7, 2014

The ampitheatre in Pozzouli is the third largest ampitheatre in Italy with only the Colosseum in Rome and the ampitheatre in Capua being larger. 

Since we were already in Pozzouli for conference, we decided to take a P-day and see some sights on the way back to Rome.  The senior couple with us had been in Rome the whole time they have been here and we thought it would be good for them to see a different part of Italy.

Isabel, this is my imitation of you!

Puteoli was the original name of what is now known as Pozzouli.

The Flavian Amphitheater

The underground halls of the Anfiteatro Flavio in Pozzuoli.The Anfiteatro Flavio at Via Terracciano 75 (tel. +39-081-526-6007, cir.campania.beniculturali.it/archeopozzuoli) is one of the oldest amphitheaters in Italy, built under Nero and Vespasian from AD 69-79. During the persecutions of Diocletian in AD 305, it was the site of martyrdom for many a Christian, including Naples beloved San Gennaro.
The exterior is a bit crumbling, and at 149m x 116m it may only rank third in size after the Colosseum at Rome and the nearby amphitheater at Capua (though its seating capacity of 20,000 is nothing to sneeze at)—but unlike Rome's Colosseum, the flooring of the Pozzuoli amphitheater survives.
You can still wander around the tunnels and chambers underneath, where the gladiators once awaited their next fights alongside caged wild beasts. That long trench down the floor's middle, now covered by a grating, was part of the elaborate staging system used to hoist animals and background scenery into view as needed. Today the underground corridors and chambers serve as storage for broken bits of statuary and columns.
- See more at: http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/campania/side_trips/pozzuoli.html#sthash.IFq2Zc0T.dpuf

The Flavian Amphitheater

The underground halls of the Anfiteatro Flavio in Pozzuoli.The Anfiteatro Flavio at Via Terracciano 75 (tel. +39-081-526-6007, cir.campania.beniculturali.it/archeopozzuoli) is one of the oldest amphitheaters in Italy, built under Nero and Vespasian from AD 69-79. During the persecutions of Diocletian in AD 305, it was the site of martyrdom for many a Christian, including Naples beloved San Gennaro.
The exterior is a bit crumbling, and at 149m x 116m it may only rank third in size after the Colosseum at Rome and the nearby amphitheater at Capua (though its seating capacity of 20,000 is nothing to sneeze at)—but unlike Rome's Colosseum, the flooring of the Pozzuoli amphitheater survives.
You can still wander around the tunnels and chambers underneath, where the gladiators once awaited their next fights alongside caged wild beasts. That long trench down the floor's middle, now covered by a grating, was part of the elaborate staging system used to hoist animals and background scenery into view as needed. Today the underground corridors and chambers serve as storage for broken bits of statuary and columns.
- See more at: http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/campania/side_trips/pozzuoli.html#sthash.IFq2Zc0T.dpuf

The Flavian Amphitheater

The underground halls of the Anfiteatro Flavio in Pozzuoli.The Anfiteatro Flavio at Via Terracciano 75 (tel. +39-081-526-6007, cir.campania.beniculturali.it/archeopozzuoli) is one of the oldest amphitheaters in Italy, built under Nero and Vespasian from AD 69-79. During the persecutions of Diocletian in AD 305, it was the site of martyrdom for many a Christian, including Naples beloved San Gennaro.
The exterior is a bit crumbling, and at 149m x 116m it may only rank third in size after the Colosseum at Rome and the nearby amphitheater at Capua (though its seating capacity of 20,000 is nothing to sneeze at)—but unlike Rome's Colosseum, the flooring of the Pozzuoli amphitheater survives.
You can still wander around the tunnels and chambers underneath, where the gladiators once awaited their next fights alongside caged wild beasts. That long trench down the floor's middle, now covered by a grating, was part of the elaborate staging system used to hoist animals and background scenery into view as needed. Today the underground corridors and chambers serve as storage for broken bits of statuary and columns.
- See more at: http://www.reidsitaly.com/destinations/campania/side_trips/pozzuoli.html#sthash.IFq2Zc0T.dpuf

Like its Roman counterpart, it is known as the Flavian Amphitheater or Amphitheatrum Flavium (Latin), presumably because it was constructed during the reign of the Flavian Dynasty (69 – 96 AD) and designed by the same architects responsible for the Colosseum. Some sources however attribute the amphitheater to Nero (Roman Emperor 54 to 68), dating its completion to sometime around 66 AD.
One of two amphitheaters constructed in the ancient port town of Puteoli, the Flavian Amphitheater was the city’s prime venue for gladiator games, chariot races, animal slayings, and executions, and in its heyday, it held some 20,000 spectators.
One has to wonder how many spectators showed up on a fateful day in 305 AD for the “execution by wild beast” of seven men who were convicted of the crime of Christianity. Carried out by local authorities during the final days of the Diocletianic Persecutions, among the seven were: two laymen; two lectors; two Deacons, one of which would become San Procolo (Saint Proculus), Pozzuoli’s Patron Saint; and a Bishop from Benevento, who would become Naples Patron Saint, San Gennaro.

All seven were cast to wild beasts; but when the animals came near the Saints, they fell affectionately at their feet and refused to harm them.

The beasts it would seem were uncooperative, but the city’s thirst for blood would not go unquenched, and when the beasts didn’t kill them, they were beheaded at Solfatara.
Excavated in the 19th century, much of the elliptical amphitheater’s structure is still intact today, the most impressive of which is the amphitheater’s well preserved subterranean passageways.
- See more at: http://www.napoliunplugged.com/location/flavian-amphitheater#sthash.ysvJGpun.dpuf

Like its Roman counterpart, it is known as the Flavian Amphitheater or Amphitheatrum Flavium (Latin), presumably because it was constructed during the reign of the Flavian Dynasty (69 – 96 AD) and designed by the same architects responsible for the Colosseum. Some sources however attribute the amphitheater to Nero (Roman Emperor 54 to 68), dating its completion to sometime around 66 AD.
One of two amphitheaters constructed in the ancient port town of Puteoli, the Flavian Amphitheater was the city’s prime venue for gladiator games, chariot races, animal slayings, and executions, and in its heyday, it held some 20,000 spectators.
One has to wonder how many spectators showed up on a fateful day in 305 AD for the “execution by wild beast” of seven men who were convicted of the crime of Christianity. Carried out by local authorities during the final days of the Diocletianic Persecutions, among the seven were: two laymen; two lectors; two Deacons, one of which would become San Procolo (Saint Proculus), Pozzuoli’s Patron Saint; and a Bishop from Benevento, who would become Naples Patron Saint, San Gennaro.

All seven were cast to wild beasts; but when the animals came near the Saints, they fell affectionately at their feet and refused to harm them.

The beasts it would seem were uncooperative, but the city’s thirst for blood would not go unquenched, and when the beasts didn’t kill them, they were beheaded at Solfatara.
Excavated in the 19th century, much of the elliptical amphitheater’s structure is still intact today, the most impressive of which is the amphitheater’s well preserved subterranean passageways.
- See more at: http://www.napoliunplugged.com/location/flavian-amphitheater#sthash.T5kcvAzC.dpuf

Like its Roman counterpart, it is known as the Flavian Amphitheater or Amphitheatrum Flavium (Latin), presumably because it was constructed during the reign of the Flavian Dynasty (69 – 96 AD) and designed by the same architects responsible for the Colosseum. Some sources however attribute the amphitheater to Nero (Roman Emperor 54 to 68), dating its completion to sometime around 66 AD.
One of two amphitheaters constructed in the ancient port town of Puteoli, the Flavian Amphitheater was the city’s prime venue for gladiator games, chariot races, animal slayings, and executions, and in its heyday, it held some 20,000 spectators.
One has to wonder how many spectators showed up on a fateful day in 305 AD for the “execution by wild beast” of seven men who were convicted of the crime of Christianity. Carried out by local authorities during the final days of the Diocletianic Persecutions, among the seven were: two laymen; two lectors; two Deacons, one of which would become San Procolo (Saint Proculus), Pozzuoli’s Patron Saint; and a Bishop from Benevento, who would become Naples Patron Saint, San Gennaro.

All seven were cast to wild beasts; but when the animals came near the Saints, they fell affectionately at their feet and refused to harm them.

The beasts it would seem were uncooperative, but the city’s thirst for blood would not go unquenched, and when the beasts didn’t kill them, they were beheaded at Solfatara.
Excavated in the 19th century, much of the elliptical amphitheater’s structure is still intact today, the most impressive of which is the amphitheater’s well preserved subterranean passageways.
- See more at: http://www.napoliunplugged.com/location/flavian-amphitheater#sthash.T5kcvAzC.dpuf

Like its Roman counterpart, it is known as the Flavian Amphitheater or Amphitheatrum Flavium (Latin), presumably because it was constructed during the reign of the Flavian Dynasty (69 – 96 AD) and designed by the same architects responsible for the Colosseum. Some sources however attribute the amphitheater to Nero (Roman Emperor 54 to 68), dating its completion to sometime around 66 AD.
One of two amphitheaters constructed in the ancient port town of Puteoli, the Flavian Amphitheater was the city’s prime venue for gladiator games, chariot races, animal slayings, and executions, and in its heyday, it held some 20,000 spectators.
One has to wonder how many spectators showed up on a fateful day in 305 AD for the “execution by wild beast” of seven men who were convicted of the crime of Christianity. Carried out by local authorities during the final days of the Diocletianic Persecutions, among the seven were: two laymen; two lectors; two Deacons, one of which would become San Procolo (Saint Proculus), Pozzuoli’s Patron Saint; and a Bishop from Benevento, who would become Naples Patron Saint, San Gennaro.

All seven were cast to wild beasts; but when the animals came near the Saints, they fell affectionately at their feet and refused to harm them.

The beasts it would seem were uncooperative, but the city’s thirst for blood would not go unquenched, and when the beasts didn’t kill them, they were beheaded at Solfatara.
Excavated in the 19th century, much of the elliptical amphitheater’s structure is still intact today, the most impressive of which is the amphitheater’s well preserved subterranean passageways.
- See more at: http://www.napoliunplugged.com/location/flavian-amphitheater#sthash.ysvJGpun.dpuf