Submerged Roman-era villa emerges from Lake Fusaro, stuns archaeologists

Yahoo

03-03-2025

A geological phenomenon has given rise to an ancient Roman village complex lying in Lake Fusaro's waters.
Josi Gerardo Della Ragione, mayor of Bacoli, recently announced on social media that walls had been discovered in Lake Fusaro near Naples, Italy.
The Phlegraean Fields sits within a collapsed caldera, namely a volcanic area formed by several volcanic edifices, which includes the Solfatara volcano, well known for its fumaroles (vents from which hot volcanic gases and vapours are emitted), reported Heritage Daily.
"They were under the water! Roman era walls and rooms discovered in Lake Fusaro. Maybe they belonged to a lavish mansion," said Josi Gerardo Della Ragione.
"The Roman environments will be the subject of further studies by the Sopritendenza. They are located not too far from the Grotte dell'Acqua and make the presence of a luxurious villa with thermal environments. Bacoli continues to be full of wonders, promoting cultural tourist tours unique in the world," added Ragione.
The city of Naples in the south of Italy, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, was originally Greek. It even traces its origins back to the siren that attempted to lure Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey.
With a history so old, it's mythological, most familiar with Naples would remember the ancient town is situated on the volcanically active and eruptive Phlegraean fields.
Most famously, the supervolcano Vesuvius obliterated Pompei, though some Neapolitans would phrase it differently: the volcano brought the city eternal life. However, Vesuvius is only one major outlet in a field of volcanic activity, and their belief might have been proven right.
In the north of the city, Lake Fusaro has been experiencing geological shifts because of the active and volatile activity happening beneath the ground. Locals refer to it as one of the five lakes on Campi Flegrei as an inferno, as in hell, a swamp of sulfuric gases.
The Earth's surface has been rising due to the flow of magma or hydrothermal fluids, a phenomenon known as bradyseism.
When the first colonies settled in the seventh century BCE, the Greeks named the area 'the burning fields" or Campi Flegrei. They found themselves not just on one volcano but a region.
In the age of the Roman Empire, the Roman elite built mansions, or villas, around Lake Fusaro because of its hot springs and favorable weather. And it appears due to the same phenomenon that they sunk only to rise again due to an unusual amount of seismic activity.
Since 2005, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology has reported a remarkable rapid incline of up to 4.5 feet in landmass. In short, the seabed lifts, and the shoreline recedes, damaging ports.
The good news is that a Roman villa has surfaced. As to what the function of the complex might be, the ancient Roman town of Bacoli used to be a popular resort, as Naples is known for its caves along the shore, where Romans would relax and vacation, Anatolian Archaeology explains.
Not on Lake Fusaro. That camp was known for its 'hedonistic lifestyle," described by the poet Sextus Propertius as 'a vortex of luxury and harbor of vice.'
From aerial photographs, Josi Gerardo Della Ragione believed they spotted a complex with Roman baths. In the 18th century, the Lake saw a resurgence in royal interest as the hunting and fishing grounds for the Bourbon nobility.
Now, the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape of Naples will continue the investigation into this exciting new piece of history, which may have kinky stories to tell.