The
Gaiola Underwater Park is an area of great interest, archaeologically and
naturally because it juxtaposes ancient remains and biological colonies of
animal and plant life flourishing in and around structures that have stood
here since roman times. The Park has been set up in 2002 for archaeological
reasons; in fact there are many remains of an ancient roman villa that lie
underwater because of bradyseism, a geological phenomenon. It causes the
lowering and the rising of the earth and of the sea level. We can assert
that the coast line has been lowered of 3 – 4 meters since roman times. For
this reason in this area it is possible to observe the remains of a roman
harbour and of the roman moray eels ponds in addition to many others ancient
structures. The visit of this park is interesting also from a geological
point of view, because the hillside of Posillipo is the eastern limit of the
volcanic area of the Phlegrean Fields. The overall morphology of the
Phlegrean Fields is the results of the intensive eruptive activity of the
enormous Phlegrean Caldera. In particular the massive presence of tuff is
given by one eruption of 12.000 years ago, called the “Neapolitan Yellow
Tuff Eruption”. In addition to all this aspect the safeguard of this area
improved the environmental condition of the coastline, making it also an
interesting environmental reserve.
Realizzazione: C.S.I.
Gaiola onlus; Testi: M. Simeone, P. Masucci; Fotografie:
M. Simeone, G. Villani, M. Mele
The
Gaiola Underwater Park is an area of great interest, archaeologically and
naturally because it juxtaposes ancient remains and biological colonies of
animal and plant life flourishing in and around structures that have stood
here since roman times. The Park has been set up in 2002 for archaeological
reasons; in fact there are many remains of an ancient roman villa that lie
underwater because of bradyseism, a geological phenomenon. It causes the
lowering and the rising of the earth and of the sea level. We can assert
that the coast line has been lowered of 3 – 4 meters since roman times. For
this reason in this area it is possible to observe the remains of a roman
harbour and of the roman moray eels ponds in addition to many others ancient
structures. The visit of this park is interesting also from a geological
point of view, because the hillside of Posillipo is the eastern limit of the
volcanic area of the Phlegrean Fields. The overall morphology of the
Phlegrean Fields is the results of the intensive eruptive activity of the
enormous Phlegrean Caldera. In particular the massive presence of tuff is
given by one eruption of 12.000 years ago, called the “Neapolitan Yellow
Tuff Eruption”. In addition to all this aspect the safeguard of this area
improved the environmental condition of the coastline, making it also an
interesting environmental reserve.
