Guided by dott. Carlo Leggeri, president of Celanapoli Cultural Association, we started the morning near Piazza Cavour, taking a look at what remains of the northern city walls that functioned as retaining walls to separate the city from the acropolis below. We could still see the sloping curve of the wall as the upper portion leans in toward what was the hillside on which Neapolis was built.On these stones are Greek marks indicating which worker in which quarry mined the stone (ostensibly for payment). This is what remains of the northern city wall that stood for 2 millenia but was torn down to make way for an ugly 1950s apartment building (seen in the background). Now there's debate on whether to tear down the apartment building. That's progress!

Then, we went to see the exhibition of the archeological relics found during the works of the Neapolitan subway. Ever wonder why construction on the Naples metro system is so slow? They've discovered more than 3 million archaeological relics from more than 3000 years of history as they've begun work on each station. Fortunately Italian law protects the archaeological finds while enabling construction to continue.

The IAS group stopped for lunch at historic Pizzeria Capasso near the old city walls. We were unexpectedly joined for lunch by a couple buskers who provided great entertainment!

After lunch we moved inside the old city walls to walk the historic Vico Giganti and explore under San Lorenzo Maggiore, trying to avoid getting mowed down on Vico Giganti (which is not so giganti).

On the way we were able to see a couple of arches which are the only remaining portion of the old Odeon theater that has been entirely surrounded and enveloped by modern construction. The rest of the theater is underground and inside the surrounding residential buildings.

The Gothic church of San Lorenzo Maggiore is at the precise geographic center of the ancient Greco-Roman city of Neapolis. The facade was designed by the famous 17th century architect Ferdinando Sanfelice. Underneath San Lorenzo Maggiore are 24 centuries of layered history... from neolithic times, to Greek, to Roman, early Christian and modern day ruins. We were able to see the Roman street (Vico Giganti) that ran through the city, with storefronts on either side. The area silted over and filled in during floods and earthquakes, and you can see the bases of early Christian columns built atop the the Roman walls on the left. There you can see Roman opus reticulum brickwork underneath the rock & mortar foundations of the early Christian church. Carlo Leggieri pointed us a "boca di lupo" or wolf-mouth opening that allowed air and light into covered residential areas. Rather than tear down Greek ruins and build over them, Romans simply used them as the foundation for their own construction.

The chiostro (or cloister/courtyard) of San Lorenzo Maggiore church contains ancient openings where rainwater was directed to be collected in underground water cisterns. The Cacace chapel in San Lorenzo Maggiore shows inredible features Spanish Baroque work by Cosimo Fanzango painted on the ceilings of the earlier Gothic structure. San Lorenzo Maggiore contains a large collection of religious relics from the Baroque and Rococo periods.

International Archaeological Society’s

Annual December

Meeting

With Lecture by Carlo Leggieri

At the Hotel Club Cala Moresca in Capo Misenum

Date:    Saturday, December 11, 2010

Time:    Begins 11:00

This year’s annual meeting will again be held at Hotel Club Cala Moresca, with stunning views of the Bay of Naples to Pompeii and Stabiae as well as the ancient Roman port of Misenum. 

Our lecturer this year will be the esteemed Carlo Leggieri, Technical Scientist with the Soprintendenza for Beni Archeologici di Salerno e Avellino, where he is responsible for the technical section of underwater archeology.

Carlo is an expert on issues related to the subsoil of Naples and has promoted the recovery, use and enjoyment of the underground Hellenistic tombs of Naples since 1992.

In 2001 he founded the Cultural Association Celanapoli.   We hope to foster an ongoing relationship with Celanapoli and develop a collaboration in support of their projects preserving and exploring the archaeological sites of the Campania region. 

The theme of his lecture will be “Archeologia Subacquea: The Salerno Coast, Intervention Methods, Sites and Relics.”  The lecture will focus on the underwater archeology survey developed along the coast of Salerno coast.   The lecture will include  wrecks and sites dating from the Roman to the modern age.  Of particular interest to some will be relics discovered from Operation Avalanche (the U.S. landing at Salerno in September 1943) with the extraordinary discovery of a secret weapon of the time, a Sherman DD tank that was recovered in 2002.  The lecture will be in Italian with our own Jorge Silva lending his excellent translation skills.

The lecture will be followed by a short meeting to introduce the new board and outline activities for the coming year. After the meeting is adjourned we will enjoy a fabulous luncheon at Hotel Club Cala Moresca. 

After taking care of business, we will adjourn for a fabulous pranzo in the salon which has a lovely panoramic view. 

Cost:   20 euro members/35 euro non-members

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Near Naples’ Cathedral, 120 m down Via Duomo, to the left, a small alley takes you to a remarkable roman ruin, the complex of S. Carminiello ai Mannesi.

This archaeological complex, unveiled in 1943, when the allied bombs destroyed the XVI Century church of S.Maria del Carmine ai Mannesi, built upon it, started to be a noble villa of 18 rooms built during the Roman Republic between the Decumano Maggiore (now Via Tribunali) and the Decumano Minore (now Via S. Biagio dei Librai – “Spaccanapoli”). At the Imperial Age it was turned into a thermal complex.

Usually closed to the public (some years ago it used to be a refuge for vandals and an illegal car parking space), this site, where we can see the different stages of Roman construction, was exceptionally open between 2^nd and 4^th October 2010, with guided tours coordinated by the Neapolitan Archaeological Group (Gruppo Archeologico Napoletano). But even when closed, it’s possible to peep through the gate and see the whole complex. A short detour to see one of the most impressive and well-preserved roman constructions in Naples is surely worthwhile.

Those interested in finding out some more about the Gruppo Archeologico Napoletano, which organizes several interesting activities, including archaeological excavations for its associates (why not become a member?), can take a look at the site http://www.ganapoletano.it/. The membership application form can be found on-line.

On 3^rd October 1839 the first railway in Italy was solemnly opened by King Ferdinand II, who took a nine-carriage train from Naples to Portici. The Neapolitan station, baptized in the honor of Armando Bayard, the engineer responsible for the construction of the railway, was located 350 m north-east of Piazza Mercato, near the place where today stands the Circumvesuviana station.

Twenty one years later, more precisely on 7^th September 1860, the station where the King had embarked for the first time, saw the arrival of Garibaldi, who, alone and unarmed, chose the train to make his triumphant entrance in Naples, thus symbolically uniting to Italy the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The avenue where the station was located (as well as the adjacent square further North) was, then, named after the great Italian hero. A stone column with a memorial marks this significant event of the Neapolitan history.

The station was closed in the beginning of the XX Century, when the new station of Piazza Garibaldi started to work. Seriously damaged during the II World War bombings, the old structure became a club for the railway workers and then a cinema (Cinema Italia). The 1980 earthquake dictated its final fate. A ruin surrounded by high walls is all we can see now.

A project to recover this historic building, along with a stretch of the old railway, was already made by Aldo Rossi, but funds are still lacking. When will the Neapolitan Authorities have the means (and, perhaps, the will) to support this future railway museum?

Bibliography

PIEDIMONTE, Antonio Emanuele, and SCONAMIGLIO, Arianna, Napoli – Uomini, Luoghi e Storie della Città Smarrita, Naples, Edizioni Intra Moenia, 2009, pp. 297-300