ENGLISH * BAIA
TO
THE RIGHT OF AVERNUS, AT THE VERY END OF THE BAY OF POZZUOLI, WE CAN SEE THE
LARGE INLET OF BAIA, NAMED AFTER BAIOS, ONE OF ULYSSES COMPANIOS, WHO WAS
BURIED HERE. THE FIRST BUILDING WE ENCONTER, ON THE PROMONTORY, IS THE CASTLE.
BEFORE GETTING THERE, HOEVER, OUR EYE IS CAUGHT BY VAST SHADOWS UNDERNEATH
THE SEA-SURFACE. THEY SEEM TO BE ROCKS, BUT THE PATTERN IS SO REGULAR THAT
WE ARE TAKEN ABACK.
WE ARE IN FACT IN THE PRESENCE OF AN ENTIRE CITY, SUBMERGED BELOW SEA-LEVEL
AS A RESULT OF THE RECURRENT BRADYSEISM OF THE AREA. WE CAN CLEARLY MAKE OUT
FROM ABOVE THE "CARDINESS" AND THE "DECUMANI", THE PALACES AND SWIMMING-POOLS
. THERE IS EVEN A LARGE THEATRE, AS IN ANY SELF-RESPECTING ROMAN TOWN. IT
IS SAID THAT CALIGULA CONSTRUCTED A BRIDGE OF BOATS TO CONNECT BAIA TO POZZUOLI,
BUT BEFORE HIM, AUGUSTUS AND ALEXANDER SEVERUS HAD BUILT RESIDENCES THERE,
ONE GOOD REASON FOR THINKING THAT THERE MUST HAVE BEEN MANY OTHER VILLAS BELONGING
TO ROMAN ARISTOCRATS, ATTRACTED TO THE TOWN ON ACCOUNT OF ITS THERMAL BATHS.
THE UNDERWATER DIVERS WHO HAVE VISITED IT SPEAK OF MARVELS. IT MUST CERTAINLY
HAVE BEEN RICHLY DECORATED WITH STATUES AND MOSAICS, FOR ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS
FINDS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO THE SURFACE.
THERE HAVE BEEN MANY PLANS TO MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE WITHOUT OBLIGING ITS VISITORS
TO DON A DIVING-SUIT. ONE IDEA WAS TO CONSTRUCT AN IMMENSE SPHERE MADE OF
PLASTIC, A KIND OF HUGE DIVING-BELL TO KEEP OUT THE SEA, BUT IT WOULD HAVE
REQUIRED HERCULEAN EFFORTS, LIKE THOSE WHICH SAVED THE TEMPLES IN THE NILE
VALLEY. THE PROJECTS HAVE THEREFORE REMAINED AT THE DRAWING-BOARD STAGE.
YET, PRECISELY BECAUSE THIS CITY, WHICH WE PRESUME TO HAVE BEEN BUILT UNDER
NERO, LIES SUBMERGED, IT REVEALS MORE ELOQUENTLY THAN ANY OTHER RUIN THE REASON
FOR THE DECLINE OF THE AREA. IT WAS MORE WELCOMING, PLEASANT, FERTILE THAN
ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE EMPIRE. THE ROMANS LOVED IT, AND EVERYTHING LEADS US
TO SUPPOSE THAT THEY WOULD WILLINGLY HAVE TRANSFERRED, ALONG WITH THEIR LARES
AND PENATES, MORE PERMANENT INSTITUTIONS…
YES THIS REGION, WITH ITS EARTH CONTINUALLY RISING AND FALLING, WAS UNSAFE;
IT HELD OUT NO GUARANTEE OF ETERNITY, AND THE ROMANS ABANDONED IT. AN AMERICAN
HISTORIAN HAS REMARKED THAT NAPLES HAD SEVERAL NATURAL FEATURES WHICH FITTED
IT TO BECOME THE CAPITAL OF AN EMPIRE, BUT ITS INHABITANTS LACKED THE TENACITY
AND THE PRATICAL LOGIC OF THE ROMANS, WHOSE CITY WAS WITHOUT A REAL HARBOUR
AND SURROUNDED BY MARSHLAND. PERHAPS THE EXACT CONTRARY IS TRUE: IT WAS NAPLES
NATURAL DISADVANTAGES WHICH SEALED ITS FATE,AND THE INSTABILITY OF ITS SOIL,
WHICH BRADYSEISM AND EARTHQUAKES, HAS CERTAINLY NOT FAVOURED LONG-TERM PLANNING.
ON THE OTHER HAND, IT WAS NATURE'S CAPRICIOUSNESS WHICH MADE THE AREA SO BEAUTIFUL
AND FASCINATING AND ENJOYABLE. AND NO ONE HAS ENJOYED IT MORE THAN THOSE GREAT
CONNOISSEURS OF PLEASURE, THE ROMANS.
AT THE FOOT OF THE CASTLE, THE SO CALLED "STOVES OF NERO" ARE VISIBLE, STILL
USED AS THERMAL BATHS TODAY. NERO ALSO HAD HUGE OYSTER BEDS CONSTRUCTED IN
THE BAY.
HERE WE ARE FINALLY ABOVE THE SQUARE SHAPED CASTLE. IT WAS BUILT TOWARDS THE
MIDDLE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY BY DON PEDRO DE TOLEDO AS A BULWARK ON THE
RUINS OF THE CAESARS' VILLA. SOMETHING MUST HAVE EXISTED ON THIS SITE BEFORE
THAT DATE, THOUGH; IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY, GROUPS OF PEOPLE MUST HAVE COME
HERE INTENT ON PLEASURE, IF WE ARE TO BELIEVE BOCCACCIO, WHEN, IN ORDER TO
WORK OFF HIS ANGER AFTER A LOVERS QUARREL WITH FIAMMETTA "MARIA D'AQUINO"
, HE INVEIGHS: "PERIR POSSA IL TUO SENO, BAIA / E IL LOCO TUO!" (MAY YOUR
BAY PERISH, BAIA, AND YOUR TOWN!) . AT PRESENT, THE CASTLE IS USED BY THE
SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, BUT DURING THE SUMMER ITS TERRACES ARE USED FOR
IMPORTANT CULTURAL EVENTS, SUCH AS CONCERTS, PLAYS, CONFERENCES, ETC.
BEHIND THE CASTLE, THERE IS THE HARBOUR, FULL OF CHARACTER. MOST OF THE BOATS
ANCHORED HERE ARE OLD BARGES USED FOR TRANSPORTATION: SOME ARE HALFSUBMERGED
IN THE WATER, AND OTHERS HAVE BEEN ABANDONED. YET THE SLEEPINESS OF THE PLACE
IS ONE OF THE CHIEF ELEMENTS OF ITS CHARM. ON THE QUAYSIDE THE PINK HOSES
OF THE FISHERMEN CAN BE SEEN QUITE CLEARLY. PICTURESQUE TRATTORIAS LINE THE
LITTLE BAY. THE CIRCULAR CONSTRUCTION ONE CAN SEE AT THE END OF THE QUAY,
JUST BEFORE THE NAVAL DOCKYARDS, IS THE TEMPLE OF VENUS. THE INTERIOR IS CIRCULAR,
WHILST THE EXTERIOR IS POLYGONAL. IT HAS A VERY LARGE DOME, HALF OF WHICH
HAS BEEN DEMOLISHED. FURTHER UP THE HILL, THE DENSE VEGETATION CANNOT HIDE
THE REMAINS OF A HUGE ARCHITECTURAL COMPLEX: THIS IS BAIA'S ARCHAEOLOGICAL
PARK, ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING OPEN AIR MUSEUMS. THE REMAINS OF ONE OF
THE MOST IMPORTANT ROMAN THERMAL BATHS ARE PRESERVED HERE.
OUR HEIGHT ALLOWS US ONLY A BIRD'S EYE VIEW, BUT EXTRAORDINARY FEATS OF HYDRAULIC
ENGINEERING CAN BE SEEN FROM THE GROUND. THE TALLEST BUILDING IS THE "TERME
DI SOSANDRA", WITH THREE TERRACES AT DIFFERENT LEVELS. THE WALLS DIVIDING
THE ROOMS ARE HOLLOW, IN ORDER TO PRESERVE THE HEAT; EACH ROOM IS COMPOSED
OF A "CALIDARIUM" AND A "TEPIDARIUM" .
THE THREE "TERME" ARE CONNECTED BY NARROW STEPS CROSSED OVERHEAD AT INTERVALS
BY THE ARCHES OF THE BRIDGES. THE OTHER TWO "TERME" ARE THE BATHS OF MERCURY
ITS DOMED ROOF IS THE EARLIST EXAMPLE OF ITS KIND AND SERVED AS A PRECEDENT
FOR THE DOME OF THE PANTHEON IN ROME AND THE BATHS OF VENUS, A RECTANGULAR
ROOM WITH AN APSE. HOWEVER, IT IS NOW THOUGHT, AFTER MORE DETAILED STUDY,
THAT THESE TWO BUILDINGS WERE NOT THERMAL BATHS AFTER ALL, BUT TOGETHER FORMED
A GREAT "PALATIUM" DATING FROM THE IMPERIAL PERIOD. HORACE REFERS TO THE PLACE
AS ONE OF THE MOST DELIGHTFUL IN THE WORLD.