Underground Naples

Underground Naples is a series of connected cisterns built in the volcanic rock under the city. The cisterns were built to hold the city's drinking water and wells were located all over the city for the people to use. After a cholera outbreak in the 1870's the cisterns were emptied and the people began throwing their trash into them. During WW2 they were used as bomb shelters for the citizens. The garbage was tamped down and dirt was laid over the garbage so that the cisterns were usable. Within the cisterns now you can see graffiti that was made by those living in and using the cisterns as shelter during the war. In addition to the cisterns, there is an ancient Roman city under Naples. We were able to see part of a large amphitheater used by Nero. The arches and other parts of the theater have been incorporated into the buildings, some of the elements can be seen above ground, while other parts are in basements of buildings all around the city. I lost track of how many steps we took to get deep into the cisterns. Once we hit the bottom it was humid and cool. The air supposedly helps those suffering from asthma. I did breathe easier there because Naples air is very polluted and I was suffering from a cold that was aggravated by the pollution. Some areas of the cisterns were very narrow and you had to crab walk to get from one area to the other. At the end of one tour they turn out the lights and you experience total darkness and quiet. One tour we took was all in Italian and we had a lovely teenage Italian girl try out her English on us, she did a great job. The second tour we took was in English, so we finally understood what we had seen on the first tour.