Acts 28:13
Puteoli is mentioned only once in Scripture, as a the final sea port on Paul's journey to Rome. This journey, disrupted by a storm and shipwreck, was continued after a three month stay in Malta. From there they journeyed by sea to Syracuse, then Rhegium, and on to Puteoli. They stayed in Puteoli for a week, at the invitation of a group of believers, before continuing the journey to Rome by road. (Acts 28:11-14).
The ancient city of Puteoli corresponds with the modern city of Pozzuoli, approximately 20 km west of Naples. I was able to visit Puteoli in 2010 as part of a journey retracing Paul's journey from Malta to Rome. On that occasion we had arrived in Naples by train and, the following day, took a 'suburban' train to visit Puteoli.
The main features we saw, dating from the Roman period , were the Flavian amphitheatre and the Macellum, both of which were constructed after the time of Paul's visit.
The Macellum was once incorrectly identified as a Temple of Serapis, due to the discovery of a statue of Serapis on the site, but was later identified as a market building. The excavated site, near to the harbour, is well below the level of the modern city. Evidence from marine mollusc activity suggests that the site has undergone cyclic subsidence and uplift over a period of centuries.
The Flavian amphitheatre is said to be the third largest in Italy and was, reportedly, a site of Christian martyrdom in the early 4th century AD. Unfortunately, we were not able to enter the site on the day of our visit.
If you're in the area, it also makes sense to take the opportunity to visit the famous sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum, south east of Naples.
Click here for a Google Earth view of Puteoli.
The three standing columns of the Roman marketplace of Puteoli are visible in Google Maps Street View here.
The coordinates at left will take you to the entrance of the amphitheatre. See Google Earth Street View image here.
Pompeii is a spectacular world heritage site - something of a snapshot of Roman life, captured as result of the eruption of Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD
Sometimes called "the other Pompeii", Herculaneum was destroyed in the same eruption that buried Pompeii. Herculaneum was a smaller, wealthier, centre as evidence by the more highly decorated housing.
I have not been able to visit Herculaneum but I believe the coordinates at left identify the entrance to the site, seen here in Google Earth Street View.
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