Baia (Pozzuoli) - Geo-archaeological underwater surveys east of the Castle of Baia.

Head: Giovanna Rocca

Knowledge of the past for the restoration and enjoyment of a historic building: the Castle of Baia
Year 2018

The project, carried out in partnership with the Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park (co-funder) and the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan Area of Naples, focuses on the geo-archaeological survey and the scientific and popular dissemination of submerged man-made structures located on the eastern side of the Castle of Baia. The primary objective of the research is the geo-archaeological survey of submerged and above-water structures, and of geological features, aimed at the recovery of the tufaceous ridge on which the Castle stands and the underlying archaeological structures located along the ridge. The project, in its linear complexity, throws light on one of the most interesting areas of the Gulf of Baia. The importance of the research is suggested in the first place by the participation in a project for the recovery of a historical building like the Castle of Baia and by the absence of specific surveys on the submerged part of the area and by the need for a revision of the bibliographic data (both with regard to the sources and to the history of studies) which backs up the results obtained at sea. In this way, a new profile of the coastline will be obtained, filling a gap in the underwater archaeological cartography of a point considered by the archaeologist Amedeo Maiuri as "fundamental" for the submerged Baia topography. All this will lead to a re-reading of the historical-literary sources concerning the area, which will contribute to the recovery work in an area of serious geological instability.