Archaeological Park of Pausilypon

In Posillipo, where Naples opens towards the Gulf and the Phlegraean Fields, the Archaeological Park of Pausilypon is one of the city’s most evocative places.
It is reached through the Grotta di Seiano, a Roman tunnel carved into the tuff rock that connects the Bagnoli side with the Gaiola valley.

After the darkness of the tunnel, the landscape suddenly changes: visitors emerge into a system of archaeological remains, Mediterranean vegetation and views over the sea. Here, the ancient Roman villa of Pausilypon reveals a quieter and luminous Naples, where architecture, nature and landscape become part of the same experience.

The meaning of Pausilypon

The name Pausilypon comes from Greek and is traditionally interpreted as “the place where pain ceases” or “the place that relieves sorrow”. It is a definition that still reflects the atmosphere of the site: a place designed in antiquity for rest, contemplation and the pleasure of the view.
Once visitors pass through the Grotta di Seiano, they reach the theatre area of the Archaeological Park of Pausilypon, where the remains of the magnificent villa built in the 1st century BC by the Roman knight Publius Vedius Pollio can be seen.

The villa of Publius Vedius Pollio

The heart of the park is connected to the great maritime villa of Publius Vedius Pollio, a Roman aristocrat of the 1st century BC. The villa extended from the promontory overlooking the Bay of Trentaremi down to the sea, in a spectacular position chosen for its landscape and direct relationship with the Gulf.
After Vedius Pollio’s death, the complex became part of the imperial estate and was enlarged to serve as an imperial residence. The Gaiola Marine Protected Area notes that today the Archaeological Park of Pausilypon and the Gaiola Underwater Park, recovered from neglect and made accessible again, form a cultural and tourist area of great importance for Naples.

Theatre, odeion and representative spaces

The Archaeological Park of Pausilypon is closely connected to the Grotta di Seiano, the monumental access to the site, and to the Gaiola Underwater Park, which represents its natural extension towards the sea. The Municipality of Naples describes the terrestrial area adjacent to the Marine Protected Area as being of great naturalistic, archaeological and landscape interest, extending from the Trentaremi promontory to the Gaiola valley.