Grotta di Cocceio

Cocceius Tunnel

Useful Information

Location:	Pozzuoli, west of Naples.
Open:	closed. [2013]
Fee:	closed. [2013]
Classification:	Tunnel
Light:	none, bring torch
Dimension:	L=1,000 m.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address:	Grotta di Cocceio, Tel: +39-0, Fax: +39-0,
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History

Description

The Grotta di Cocceio is an underground tunnel connecting Lake Avernus and the Roman city of Cuma, east of todays Pozzuoli. The tunnel was construted by the Romans during the civil war between Octavian and Sextus Pompey (37 BC). It was part of Portus Julius, the port of the Classis Misenensis, the most important Roman fleet, named after Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus. The port and the tunnel was constructed by the architect Lucius Cocceius Auctus.

Despite its military origin, the Tunnel of Cocceio was always connected to the Subterranea Antro della Sibilla in nearby Cuma. According to Roman mythology, the Trojan hero Aeneas entered the underworld at the shores of Lake Avernus. See the Aeneid of Virgil for details. Later the term Avernus became a synonym of the underworld.