Lake d'Averno
| Lake d'Averno | ||
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| Lake d'Averno | ||
| Geographical location | Metropolitan city of Naples , Campania region , Italy | |
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| Coordinates | 40 ° 50 '18 " N , 14 ° 4' 30" E | |
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The Lake Averno ( Folk etymology Graecized Άορνος [λίμνη] Aornos [Limne] , sea without birds') is located in the western part of the city of Pozzuoli , west of Naples , and is part of the Campi Flegrei . In mythology, especially the Aeneid of Virgil , the lake is an entrance to the underworld .
history
The Lago d'Averno originally had a natural connection to the sea and was used as part of the Portus Julius , the central war port of the Roman Empire. The Grotta di Cocceio , an ancient tunnel about one kilometer long, led from the lake to Cumae . Lucius Cocceius Auctus is considered to be the architect of the tunnel , who was commissioned by Agrippa in his capacity as general of the emperor Augustus to do this. It served to connect the city with the naval port. It was usable until 1940 and was only destroyed in the Second World War. During the last volcanic eruption in the Phlegraean Fields in the immediate vicinity of the lake in 1538, the connection to the sea was filled in, leaving a circular maar - the lake in its present form. During this eruption, which lasted ten days, Monte Nuovo was also formed .
The lake shores were built with villas in Roman times and vineyards were planted around them. A temple of Apollo has been preserved as a ruin. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the lake and ruins were a popular motif in romantic landscape painting.
The lake was privately owned and owned by a company that ran a country club on its shore . The company was bought up in 2008 by an entrepreneur who is suspected of belonging to organized crime . His assets including the company and the lake were confiscated by the Italian state in 2010 following a court order.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Werner Müller: Architects in the world of antiquity . Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1989, ISBN 3-7338-0096-6 , p. 150.
- ^ Spiegel Online: Italian police confiscate a lake , July 10, 2010