Campi Flegrei - Cuma, Naples

Cuma is the oldest of Magna Grecia's Hellenic colonies. It is the farthest from the mother country and is where the mythical Sibyl was consulted by Aeneas when he was fleeing Troy. Cuma was founded in 740 BC, and the diffusion of the Greek alphabet in the Western Mediterranean is all due to this city. Cuma's unstoppable decline began under Roman rule and it was abbandoned in the Middle Ages after the Saracen invasions. The ancient Greek city stood on the promontory which now contains the beautiful archeological site which offers visitors the chance to see such mythical sites such as the extraordinary cave of the Sibyl: a long tunnel carved into the tufa which ends in a rectangular room where the Sibyl prophesied. Following the paved road which leads up the hill towards the acropolis, you will come across the remains of the Temple of Apollo and Jove, and not far away is the Roman Arco Felice which dominates a section of the ancient Via Domiziana which linked Pozzuoli with Rome.