Flavian Amphitheatre and Temple of Serapis
The third largest amphitheatre in Italy and the 'macellum' of bradyseism
Pozzuoli, the ancient Puteoli, was the main port of Rome before Ostia, where ships arrived from Egypt and the East. Two monuments recall its importance. The Flavian Amphitheatre, built under Vespasian, is the third largest in Italy after the Colosseum and Capua, with room for about 40,000 spectators. Its underground passages are exceptionally well preserved: you can walk among the corridors, cages and openings through which the wild beasts were raised into the arena.
Near the harbour stands the so-called Temple of Serapis, in reality the macellum, the Roman market, named after a statue of the Egyptian god found there. Its three tall marble columns bear a band of holes made by sea molluscs several metres above the ground: proof that the site sank below the sea and rose again over the centuries. It is the most famous symbol of bradyseism, studied by geologists from all over the world; today the market is often flooded at the base.
Tip: the amphitheatre is part of a combined ticket with other Phlegraean sites, such as Baia and Cuma; the Rione Terra, the ancient acropolis of Pozzuoli, can also be visited underground.
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