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Ancient tunnels hidden beneath the city hold the ruins of 2,500 years of history.
Beneath the streets of Naples lies an expansive geothermal zone, made up of tuff - a type of volcanic rock. For two and a half millennia, this soft material has been hewn into extensive caves and tunnels to build the underground 'shadow city'. Measuring an impressive 280 miles (450 kilometers), the network was initially established by the Greeks in the fourth century BC for their 'New City', Neapolis. The Romans later built aqueducts in these same chambers and passages, providing water to those living within the city limits. As time passed, new structures were erected atop old ones; leaving many traces of past lives concealed beneath Naples.
