December 2018
After visiting Lake Avernus [see: Lago d'Averno], one of the traditional entrances to Hades for the Romans, I took the train a couple of stops more to Baia - party town for the Romans!
Baiae was an ancient Roman town situated on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples and now in the commune of Bacoli. It was a fashionable resort for centuries in antiquity, particularly towards the end of the Roman Republic, when it was reckoned as superior to Capri, Pompeii, and Herculaneum by wealthy Romans, who built villas here from 100 BC to AD 500. It was notorious for its hedonistic offerings and the attendant rumors of corruption and scandal. The lower part of the town later became submerged in the sea due to local volcanic, bradyseismic activity which raised or lowered the land, and recent underwater archaeology has revealed many of the fine buildings now protected in the submerged archaeological park.
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Baiae was notorious for the hedonistic lifestyle of its residents and guests. In 56 BC, the prominent socialite Clodia was condemned by the defence at the trial of Marcus Caelius Rufus as living as a harlot in Rome and at the "crowded resort of Baiae", indulging in beach parties and long drinking sessions. An elegy by Sextus Propertius written in the Augustan Age describes it as a "den of licentiousness and vice". In the 1st century, "Baiae and Vice" formed one of the moral epistles written by Seneca the Younger; he described it as a "vortex of luxury" and a "harbor of vice" where girls went to play at being girls, old women as girls and some men as girls according to a first century BC wag.
(Wikipedia)
"Vortex of luxury" - that got my attention. Perhaps it was fitting that the entrance to Hell was conveniently located nearby. Ancient Baiae was eventually claimed by the sea (the lower town at least) and these days the former upper town forms an archeological park with a lot of ruins to explore not to mention lovely views across the Bay of Naples and its rocky coastline. I could see why people wanted to have villas there - it was way better than Hercanuleum [see: Hercanuleum]. I had been impressed with Hercanuleum's position right under towering Vesuvius, but Baia had more - sweeping sea views, a beach, islands offshore, and a rocky coastline tufted with trees. It could not have been more idyllic. I explored the site mostly alone - there was one other couple that showed up when I did (and we had to track down the guy who sold the entry tickets). Clearly, people were not breaking down the gate to get into this former den of vice.
The Temple of Mercury ruin, actually the frigidarium (the place for cold water bathing - Baia was a hotspring town) was an eerie, domed building exhibiting great acoustics with sound reverberating between the pool of water below and the dome above. In fact, prior to the building of the Pantheon in Rome, it was the largest dome ever built by the Romans - not bad for a party town! Unfortunately, the Temple of Mercury was dank, dark, and uninviting - historically fascinating, but not a "beautiful" place that recalled Baiae's heyday. None of the other ruins held much interest - I am sure a guided tour coupled with sordid stories would have been informative (and fun).
Baia sadly reminded me of Onagawa, Japan which was devastated by the tsunami of 2011 [see: harbor wave] Post earthquake and tsunami, parts of Onagawa had sunk into the sea. The same had occurred in Baiae repeatedly and over time the town was abandoned. Lake Avernus nearby stopped spewing sufuric gases as well - perhaps without that den of vice close by the entrance to Hell had been closed?
I exited the site and continued down the road. The party was long over.
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