The Catacombs of Naples Italy

 #Catacombs_Naples_Italy

Was originally built by the ancient Greeks constructing Neapolis  (Naples) which has served many purposes throughout time as you read in this blog

KeyTip
It costs around $15.00 US so well worth it, my only issue is the groups (divided into whatever language your guide was providing) were too large,
so you could not hear most of the information plus they were rushing you through so they could start another tour

The underground was later used by the Romans as aqueducts to supply water, as seen here with the rope pulley system for over 2300 years
Besides the water being raised to the surface, the surrounding stones were used for construction of buildings plus the volcanic ash was mixed with seawater / lime to make a mortar

The catacombs of Naples is a subterranean network that spans for over 450kms (280 miles) and is 40 meters deep (130 feet)
 So a vast system, which you can get lost in so always be near your group

This part of the war museum pays homage (in part) to The Four Days of Naples

It was the uprising against the Nazi German occupation of the City that lasted just for four days
 in September 1943 and before the arrival of the Allied Forces

These tunnels served as a bomb shelter for the military plus also the citizens of Naples

From 1940-1943 there were over 200 Allied bombing raids that caused severe damage and unfortunately 20,000+ civilian deaths
Only the City of Milan had more bombing raids 

At the sound of the siren the local citizens hurried to the tunnels and some actually lived here for around 50%  of their daily lives during the conflict
You can see evidence of this with showers, toilets plus the childrens toys during these turbulent times

 But the positive was, it was estimated the catacombs saved over 200,000 people during the Second World War

During the war the children of Naples experienced significant hardship which resulted in many to scavenge for food, live on the streets and so on
 As a majority where orphaned, wounded or just displaced

After the conflict the "Happiness Trains" program sent thousands of boys and girls from here to other parts of Italy to stay with families in much better conditions

Conditions were very difficult
 As there were no fresh water or electricity, medicine and food was scarce

After the war most of these spaces were abandoned, as the memories of those times were deliberately suppressed due to the traumatic experiences

The catacombs were reopened in 1969 by the Archbishop of Naples
 It started with modern excavations in 1971 to reverse years of neglect, with the vision to show the world the remarkable heritage of this area
 With the end goal to highlight both the good and dark past of its history

The Romans connected all the caves with all these narrow tunnels to create water pressure for their 180 km ( 125 miles) aqueduct system
The conduit was used for the next 2000 years until a cholera epidemic closed it in 1884

KeyTip
Today its just a claustrophobic sideways slide through part of our tour 😂
plus have your cellphone flashlight ready as sections do get dark
 

During the 1940s Naples had a shortage of metals (as everyone did during the War)
 So the people of Naples used the wells as public trash cans

 Then the city decided to use the tunnels as a bomb shelter
and cleaned up the catacombs

 

Part of the preparation of turning the catacombs into bomb shelters;
 Twenty entrances were built to access and the other major task was to close up over 14,000 wells so the explosive devices would not reach them in the underground

Heading up to the 142 stairs and back to the surface when i notice an area that they have been growing strawberries plus tomatoes (at what has to be 35 meters or 115 feet underground)

 Found out later it is an experiment by the local University

Moving Forward;
 The Sotterranea (underground) has been used for art exhibitions, theater performances and also
 classic music concerts
But as we just witnessed it has served many other useful purposes of its long history in Naples