Rione Terra

Lonely Planet review

Rising 33m above sea level at the western end of the seafront, Rione Terra is the Pozzuoli's oldest quarter and ancient Puteoli's acropolis. During the age of Augustus, an existing Capitolium here was lavishly restructured in white marble by architect Lucius Cocceius Auctus. Renamed the Temple of Augustus, it famously rivalled the temples of Rome.

Between the late 5th century and the early 6th century, the temple was again restructured, becoming Pozzuoli's Duomo. In 1632, the cathedral was dedicated to San Procolo and given a baroque revamp. When it caught fire in 1964, the temple was revealed once more and now both structures are undergoing an ambitious restoration, due for completion in 2008.

Visitors can now head underground into an archaeological wonderland of ancient Roman roads, shops and even a brothel. You can walk down the decumanus maximus , check out ancient taverns, peer into millers' shops (complete with intact grindstones) and decipher graffiti written by the poet Catallus in a dingy slaves' cell.