There Baia underwater citydefined as the “submerged Pompeii” or “Roman Atlantis” and “Piccola Roma”, is a submerged archaeological park north of the Gulf of Napleswhich we visited during our documentary “Vulc – The essence of a bond. The protected marine area includes the coastal strip that extends from what today is – in fact – the port of Baiaup to Pirelli’s pier a Pozzuolifor an area of 177 hectares (2 square km). Bay was a Roman Residential Centerfamous since the second century AC for thermal waters, the mild climate and the beautiful landscape. Chosen by the Roman aristocracy as a holiday resort until III century ADBaia begins to be abandoned by IV century AD., when the coast begins to sink into the lowering of the soil due to phenomenon of bradisismconnected to Seismic movements of the Campi Flegrei.
Today Baia can be visited with snorkeling and underwater divingas well as from the surface of the sea with one boat tripand you can admire a state of conservation of archaeological finds Really remarkable: mosaics, frescoes, sculptures, columns and road tracks, all a only 5 meters deepbetween anemons and starfish.
What was in Baia and why it was submerged by the sea
Baia’s story begins about 2400 years ago, when the inlet was occupied by a lake, the Baianus Lacus: This Istmo is connected to the mainland by a channel, about 200 meters long and 32 wide, on whose banks the villas of which we can still admire the remains found for the first time in the 1920s were built today. Among the owners we find Giulio Cesare, Cicero, Pompeo Magno, Marco Antonio, the Scipionibut there is also news of the Imperial Palace where they stayed Nero, Caligola, Augusto, Tiberius, Claudio, Adriano, Alessandro Severo. Also nicknamed “Little Rome” for the wealth of its architecture, it is said that the city of Baia must its name in Bajus, helmsman of Ulysses.
Today we can admire what remains of these villas and thermal complexes, both public and private: bay, in fact, starting from the 6th century AD started to sink into due to the phenomenon that affects this area on the Gulf of Naples, the bradyseism. Due to typical seismic movements of this area, Bradisism consists in slow vertical movements descending which, at a rhythm of indicatively 1 centimeter per yearmove the ground more and more down, until they are sinking. Compared to about 2000 years ago, therefore, today Baia is about 6/8 meters lower than when the spa was par excellence of the Roman aristocracy.
Palaces, villas and mosaics: to discover the ancient submerged city
Even today Baia welcomes his visitors, but it is necessary to perform anunderwater divingor observe it by doing snorkelingor with one boat trip. You can still see the remains of those that have been architectural beauties of the Roman era, including:
- The 3 round rooms with the hemispherical dome: the Mercur timeIThe Temple of Diana and the Temple of Venuswhich, however, are not temples dedicated to worship, but thermal salt
- The Nymphaeum of Punta Epitaffioa hall for banquets where numerous statues were present, some of which were transferred inside the Archaeological Museum of the Campi Flegrei, where the environment was reconstructed
- Villa dei Pisontheone of the most important families of the Roman Senate: today you can still admire the colonnade and the spa full of colored mosaics and “frangiflutti” pylons, which protected the villa from storms
- spa of lacusthe thermal area, with splendid mosaic and marble floors with different geometries – square, hexagonal, octagonal – with cards of different colors
- Villa “In Protyrus“, Of which you can still admire the porticoed garden, environments with marble flooring, the areas attributed to the shops that opened on the road leading to the entrance of the villa, which was precisely” a proto “, with two columns and a small tympanum that delimited the entrance door
- The Commercial port of Baia and Portus Juliusbuilt by making the sea penetrate the Averno and Lucrino lakes.
Also thenatural environment which characterizes the seabed is the result of the interaction of bradisism with other processes, including theMarine erosion and volcanic emissions. In the Baia area, the particularly interesting is the Dry smokearea where, in some places, the sulphurous fumes warm up the water.
Baia is a real submerged jewel, described by the poet Orazio with these words, which can still be read on the plaque located at the access avenue to the city: “Nullus in orbe sinus baiis praelucet amoenis“, that is to say “Nothing in the world shines more than the helm of Baia“.
