Napoli Sotterranea
Napoli (NA)
FamousHistory & archaeology
The story
Forty metres beneath the alleys, Greek quarries and Roman cisterns turned into shelters during the war: another Naples carved into the tufo (volcanic tuff), dark and cool.
Access
€ ~12, guided tour only, online · 2026, to be reconfirmed
The story
Beneath Naples stretches a second city: an immense network of tunnels, galleries and cisterns dug into the tuff, used by humankind for millennia. About nine hundred thousand square metres of cavities, born to extract building stone, then turned into an aqueduct, and finally, during the Second World War, into air-raid shelters.
What to see
The visit routes lead tens of metres underground, among the ancient tunnels of the Greek-Roman aqueduct and the spaces that sheltered the Neapolitans during the bombing: cisterns, narrow stairs, testimonies of the sheltered life. It is a unique way to understand the stratification of the city.
Tips
You go down only with a guided tour: check hours, duration and meeting point on the official channels. Some passages are narrow — bear it in mind if you suffer from claustrophobia. Bring a sweatshirt: underground the temperature is constant and cool.
Frequently asked questions
What is Underground Naples?
A vast network of cavities dug into the tuff beneath the city — about 900,000 m² — used as quarries, aqueduct and, during the war, as air-raid shelters.
How do you visit Underground Naples?
With guided tours that descend into the subsoil: check hours and meeting point on the official channels; some passages are narrow.
Why did the subsoil of Naples come about?
From the extraction of tuff to build the city, then reused as a water network and finally as a shelter during the bombing of the Second World War.
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