Some 2km up Via Rosini, which becomes Via Solfatara (about 900m north of the metro), the surreal Solfatara crater was known to the Romans as the Forum Vulcani (home of the god of fire). At the far end of the steaming, malodorous crater are the Stufe, in which two ancient grottoes were excavated at the end of the 19th century to create two brick sudatoria (sweat rooms). Due to a tragic incident in late 2017, the site was closed when we last visited.
Solfatara Crater
Bay of Naples
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
6.14 MILES
Naples' National Archaeological Museum serves up one of the world’s finest collections of Graeco-Roman artefacts. Originally a cavalry barracks and later…
6.48 MILES
Originally designed as a hunting lodge for Charles VII of Bourbon, the monumental Palazzo di Capodimonte was begun in 1738 and took more than a century to…
6.29 MILES
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11 MILES
Herculaneum harbours a wealth of archaeological finds, from ancient advertisements and stylish mosaics to carbonised furniture and terror-struck skeletons…
19.08 MILES
The ghostly ruins of ancient Pompeii (Pompei in Italian) make for one of the world's most engrossing archaeological experiences. Much of the site's value…
Certosa e Museo di San Martino
5.48 MILES
The high point (quite literally) of the Neapolitan baroque, this charterhouse-turned-museum was built as a Carthusian monastery between 1325 and 1368…
6.24 MILES
Naples' oldest and most sacred catacombs became a Christian pilgrimage site when San Gennaro's body was interred here in the 5th century. The carefully…
11.24 MILES
There are castles and then there’s Ischia’s Castello Aragonese, a veritable fort-city set on its own craggy islet, looking like a cross between Harry…
Nearby Bay of Naples attractions
0.7 MILES
Back in its ancient heyday, Italy's third-largest amphitheatre – desired by Nero, and completed by Vespasian from AD 69 to 79 – could hold over 20,000…
0.95 MILES
Just east of the port, sunken in a leafy piazza, sits the Tempio di Serapide, which can be viewed from the street but not visited. Despite its name, it…
1 MILES
Rione Terra is Pozzuoli's oldest quarter and its ancient acropolis. The original 2nd-century-BC temple to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva was replaced by a…
1.06 MILES
Down by the port, Pozzuoli's atmospheric fish market is just the spot for an appetising morning stroll. Good weather brings in the best catches, with…
2.32 MILES
The interactive City of Science is part of a long-term redevelopment of the Bagnoli steelworks area, 5km southeast of central Pozzuoli. It's a particular…
2.69 MILES
At 8pm on 29 September 1538, a crack appeared in the earth near the ancient Roman settlement of Tripergole, violently spewing out a concoction of pumice,…
2.72 MILES
At the bottom of a long, steep and exhausting descent, the Grotta di Seiano isn't actually a cave but a 1st-century tunnel linking the Roman Villa…
2.9 MILES
Perched high above the shimmering sea on the westernmost tip of posh Posillipo hill, this much-loved, somewhat neglected park is the place to kick back on…