L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES O nce upon a time there was Rome: leader of the world, conqueror of the M editer - ranean, ruler of people, user of the most feared language in the universe, at least when you ask Italian teenagers. These are all things we know but, as the caput mundi and its Empire like to keep us amazed still today, here comes some- thing you may not be aware of: ancient Romans had their own Las Vegas and it ended up like Atlantis. Only the place we're g o i n g t o t a l k a b o u t a c t u a l l y exists. If you are familiar with their history, you know the ancient R o m a n s - a n d b y a n c i e n t Romans I mean wealthy ancient Romans, of course - had a pen- chant for holiday villas by the sea; their favorite location was the coast of Campania, where P o m p e i i , H e r c o l a n e u m a n d Stabiae were, just to give you an idea. Indeed, many rich Romans had their homes on the gentle hills behind these towns, only to s e e t h e m e n t i r e l y d e s t r o y e d when Vesuvius decided to show it wasn't a mountain as it was believed, but an active volcano. Another thing you may be aware of is that Romans, well… liked to party. They were bons viveurs and certainly knew how to enjoy themselves, in ways that could make even the most outrageous of modern hedonists blush. But they also knew the importance of relaxing and tak- ing care of their bodies to mend the soul, as their philosophers used to tell us, merging together the spiritual and the physical, recognizing and embracing the dual nature of humans more than all those that came after them. E n t e r s , t h e n , R o m e ' s L a s Vegas, Baia: named so, legends say, because Ulysses's helms- man, Baius, was buried here. Baia, the place were the capi- tal's VIPs spent their weekends to relax and enjoy earthly plea- sures; Baia, where the sea was mirror to villas and spas so luxu- rious we have difficulties imag- ining such wealth today. Baia, the city of sin, as we will see, the city whose downfall has been the very geological phe- nomena that the Romans associ- ated to Hades, their underworld. W h a t a f i t t i n g e n d , f o r t h e Empire's capital of lascivious- ness and intrigue. You see, the first thing that attracted rich Romans to Baia was the beauty of its location, of course. Only about 30 km away from Naples, its see-through waters and sweet climate made it a perfect retreat: Cicero had a r e s i d e n c e h e r e a n d s o d i d Rome's greatest poet, Virgil, and naturalist, Pliny the Elder. They certainly found solace in the beauty of the area, and in its many sumptuous spas: remem- ber? Mens sana in corpore sano, J u v e n a l h a d w r i t t e n i n h i s Satyres, and the Romans truly believe in it. Indeed, Baia was known for its mineral waters, p e r f e c t f o r s p a s a n d t o k e e p healthy, and also for the fact it rose in the area they called Phle- graean Fields, the flaming fields, because of the many active vol- canic calderas that dotted it. Because of this geological p e c u l i a r i t y , t h e P h l e g r a e a n Fields were considered by both Greeks and Romans the entry to their underworld. But Baia had a much seedier underbelly, something worthy of today's tales of lust, illicit affairs and dubious behavior we often associate with some modern rich and famous…A resident of Baia, for instance, had a nynphaeum built inside a private grotto of h i s , w h e r e h e a n d h i s m a t e s could enjoy in full liberty the many, heady pleasures of flesh, and certainly that wasn't the only place like that in town, mind. But Baia was also a per- fect location for murder and illicit intrigue. Some say that Cleopatra was here, in 44 BC, after Julius Caesar's death, and that it is from Baia she managed to escape back home, to Alexan- d r i a . A n d d o y o u r e m e m b e r A g r i p p i n a , N e r o ' s m u m , t h e woman who would make Kris Kardashian look like an amateur a t m a n a g i n g h e r c h i l d r e n ' s careers? Of imperial blood (her b r o t h e r w a s t h e i n f a m o u s Caligula), she wanted her own son Nero to become emperor so badly she first married her own uncle Claudius, emperor, then plotted his demise by use of poi- s o n o u s m u s h r o o m s a n d a n enema of wild gourd. Where did the ordeal take place? Yes, in Baia. A place of immense beauty, a place for the rich, the famous, the hedonists. But also a place of murder, lust and legend. And just as it happened to Dorian Gray's portrait, which took upon itself the filth of his soul and sins a n d , s l o w l y b u t i n e x o r a b l y , turned into the picture of an old monster, so did Baia slowly but steadily fell to its death, not b e c a u s e o f t h e h a b i t s o f i t s inhabitants, but because of geol- ogy. B u i l t , a s w e s a i d , i n a n extremely active volcanic area, Baia was subjected to brady- seism, a phenomenon where the e a r t h s u r f a c e r i s e s a n d f a l l s because of seismic activity tak- ing place underneath it. It was still standing when the empire fell, as Barbarians sacked it and the Moors did it again later, in the eight century. But the ancient R o m a n v i l l a s a n d s p a s w e r e bound to be buried by the sea, submerged by the same beautiful green and blue velvety cloak that attracted so many in the first place. Life continued, of course, in t h e a r e a , a n d n o o n e r e a l l y remembered the fasts of ancient B a i a , t h e L a s V e g a s o f t h e Roman Empire. That is, until the 1940s, when a pilot took an aeri- al photo of the area, and build- ings were well visible under- neath the bay's waters. It took twenty years to finally get to investigate what was under the s e a a n d w h a t g e o l o g i s t s a n d archaeologists found was amaz- ing: the town of Baia, perfect and breathtaking, statues and palaces still there. A bit like Pompeii, just under with a blan- ket of water, instead of ashes, keeping it from human eyes for centuries. Because of its peculiar loca- tion, of course, Baia was accessi- ble only to specialized archaeol- ogists, but since 2002, the year when it became a marine pro- tected area, things have changed a bit: indeed, modern advances in marine archeology allow us mere mortals to see what Baia looks like thanks to spectacular photos and 3D reconstructions w h i c h a l l o w e d h i s t o r i a n s t o piece together the real life of Baia and its people, debauchery and intrigue included. And if you are trained to do it, the Centro Sub Campi Flegrei offers guided scuba diving tours of the ruins. Can't dive? No wor- ries, because there is plenty to see and do above water, too. A visit to the Baia castle will give you a great idea of the grandiosi- ty of the ancient town, as many of its archaeological treasures are kept there. And while you're at it, you should also visit the Parco Archeologico Delle Terme di Baia, where the above water section of ancient Baia is visible. It was discovered only in the 1950s, by Italian archaeologist Amedeo Maiuri, famous for his work on Pompeii and Hercula- neum. Baia, the underwater city, was once a favored site of leisure of the Romans © Jeremy Brown | Dreamstime.com Mosaics at Baia, preserved and protected by seawater © Jeremy Brown | Dreamstime.com The first thing that attracted people to Baia, was the beauty of its location © Jeremy Brown | Dreamstime.com Why seek Atlantis, when you have Baia? CHIARA D'ALESSIO

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