Campi Flegrei
Hotels Campi Flegrei
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Campi Flegrei, also known as the Phlegraean Fields, is a large 13 km wide
caldera situated to the west of Naples.
Today most of the area lies underwater, but it includes the town of Pozzuoli and
the Solfatara crater, mythological home of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. It is
thought that the caldera was created in two major events. The first occurred
about 40,000 years ago, erupting about 200 km³ of magma (500 km³ bulk volume[1])
to produce the Campanian Ignimbrite. Approximately 12,000 years ago another
major eruption occurred, forming a smaller caldera inside the main one, centered
on the town of Pozzuoli. This event produced the Neopolitan Yellow Tuff,
referring to the characteristic yellow rocks there.
The area was known to the Greeks, who had a colony nearby at Cumae.
The caldera, which now is essentially at ground level, is accessible on foot. It
contains a large number of fumaroles, from which steam can be seen issuing, and
a number of pools of boiling mud. Several subsidiary cones and tuff craters lie
within the caldera. One of these craters is filled by Lago d'Averno. In 1538, an
eight-day eruption in the area deposited enough material to create a new hill,
Monte Nuovo.
At Campi Flegrei, there is tourist accommodation available in hotels, farm
holiday, farmhouse, residence self-catering accommodation, b&b, rooms for rent,
holiday homes, camp sites and tourist villages.
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Campania
