L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 4 A rare megalog- raphy from the first century BC h a s j u s t b e e n u n c o v e r e d i n Pompeii, a site that never ceases to reveal extraordinary finds. A few kilometers to the n o r t h , i n P o z z u o l i , t h e M a c e l l u m — c o m m o n l y misidentified as the Temple of Serapis — is once again proving its importance, serv- ing as an open-air laboratory for scientists studying the m o v e m e n t o f t h e E a r t h ' s crust. Archaeology certainly helps preserving art and his- tory but it also provides valu- able insights into natural phe- nomena. In recent weeks, earth- quakes have become more frequent in the northern dis- tricts of Naples. The second week of March brought the s t r o n g e s t t r e m o r i n f o r t y years, following the May 20, 2024, earthquake. With a magnitude of 4.4, it caused significant damage in Bagno- li. According to the National Institute of Geophysics a n d V o l c a n o l o g y , t h i s event — accompanied by an extended earthquake swarm — is linked to the increasing rate of ground uplift, which in recent months has acceler- ated from 0.39 to 1.18 inches per month. This phenome- non, known as bradyseism, is a cycle of slow ground sub- sidence followed by more rapid uplift, typically accom- panied by low-magnitude, shallow earthquakes. Over the past twenty years, the ground in this area has risen by 55 inches. Arriving in Naples, the i m p o s i n g s i l h o u e t t e o f Mount Vesuvius domi- nates the horizon. Visiting the spectacular ruins of Her- culaneum, Stabiae, and Pompeii, one cannot help but feel the unsettling prox- imity of the volcano, which in 79 AD buried Pompeii under a t h i c k l a y e r o f a s h a n d pumice, preserving the city in a frozen moment of destruc- tion and history. While the e x c a v a t i o n s c o n t i n u e t o reveal extraordinary finds — most recently a magnificent megalography in deep Pom- p e i a n r e d — f e w p e o p l e notice the immense semicir- cle that defines the coastline of Naples. This natural formation is, in fact, the caldera of an ancient supervolcano, which erupted approximately 100,000 years ago, during the Late Pleistocene, in what was one of the most powerful eruptions in the area's geo- logical history. Confirmation of this came from a recent study published in Nature – Communications Earth and Environment, con- ducted by researchers from the Institute of Environmen- tal Geology and Geoengineer- i n g ( C N R ) , t h e N a t i o n a l Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, and the univer- sities of Sapienza (Rome) and Aldo Moro (Bari). These findings offer fur- ther evidence of the region's complex and active volcanic system, highlighting the fact that Naples and its surround- ings rest on one of the most geologically dynamic areas on the planet. Today, the active caldera reveals itself through the fumaroles of the Solfatara in Pozzuoli and the ongoing effects of bradyseism, the same phenomenon that, in antiquity, led to the gradual submersion of Baiae. This once-glorious Roman seaside town, renowned for its luxu- r i o u s v i l l a s a n d t h e r m a l b a t h s , i s n o w o n e o f t h e w o r l d ' s m o s t f a s c i n a t i n g underwater archaeological sites. Beneath the sand lie p a v e d s t r e e t s , h o u s e s , mosaics, and statues, even the Nymphaeum of Emperor Claudius, all preserved in a submerged world now inhab- ited by fish and algae. The Phlegraean Fields — whose name comes from t h e G r e e k f o r " b u r n i n g land"—continue to rise and fall, creating significant chal- lenges for the local popula- tion. Imagine a pot of water on the verge of boiling — this is what happens beneath a densely populated area home to half a million people. This is where the Macel- lum comes into play. With its t h r e e c i p o l l i n o m a r b l e columns, this archaeological site is not only a symbol of ancient Puteoli — modern Pozzuoli — but also a scien- tific marker of bradyseism in the Phlegraean Fields. The s t r u c t u r e , n o w s t a n d i n g along the marina, was once completely submerged. We k n o w t h i s b e c a u s e o f t h e holes left by marine mollusks on its walls and columns, w h i c h h a v e a l l o w e d researchers to track the rise and fall of the ground over the past two thousand years. Discovered in 1750 but dating back to the 1st or 2nd century AD, the Macellum is an extraordinary witness to geological change, located almost at the precise center of the Phlegraean volcanic caldera. It offers visible proof Pompeii: a city silenced by ash, yet alive with memory, under the watchful gaze of Vesuvius BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 The newly discovered Frieze of the House of the Thiasos, in Pompeii (Photo: Agnese Sbaffi and Emanuele Antonio Minerva - Ministero della Cultura)

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