Museo del Sottosuolo
Napoli (NA)
Hidden gemMuseums
The story
Cisterns, tunnels and wells under Piazza Cavour, where the munaciello (little monk of Neapolitan lore) is not a fairy tale but the trade of those who worked down here: small, hooded, always in the shadows.
Access
€ 10 (reduced € 7). Thu-Sun, tours every hour, booking compulsory. Tel. 081451085
The story
The Museum of the Subsoil, beneath Piazza Cavour, tells of the hidden Naples dug into the tuff. It develops about twenty-five metres beneath the street, in spaces that were quarries and above all an air-raid shelter during the Second World War: a piece of the city's history and of the life of the Neapolitans under the bombs.
What to see
A route in depth among galleries, cisterns and spaces dug into the tuff, with the memory of the wartime shelters and the tale of the centuries-old relationship between Naples and its subsoil. In the tradition, accompanying the visit there is also the Munaciello, a sprite of Neapolitan legends.
Tips
It is visited only with a guided tour, by booking, generally at weekends: check days, hours and arrangements on the official site. It is an underground route with stairs, cool and partly narrow; not suited to those who suffer from claustrophobia. You are in Piazza Cavour, near the Archaeological Museum.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Museum of the Subsoil of Naples?
A route twenty-five metres beneath Piazza Cavour, among quarries and air-raid shelters dug into the tuff, which tells of underground Naples and life in wartime.
How do you visit the Museum of the Subsoil?
Only with a guided tour by booking, generally at weekends: check days and hours on the official site; it is not suited to those who suffer from claustrophobia.
Where is the Museum of the Subsoil?
Beneath Piazza Cavour, in Naples, near the National Archaeological Museum.
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