In turbulent times in Naples, Ferdinand II wanted an escape route from the royal palace. Errico Alvino was commissioned in 1853 to construct a military passage for troops and his family.
A tunnel was dug through the volcanic rock underneath the hill of Pizzofalcone and connected to other tunnels and aqueducts, including the Carmignano Aqueduct (1627-1629). Two years after it was begun the fall of the Bourbon dynasty stopped the work and it was forgotten until WWII when it was put to good use.
In the last few years a team of volunteers has cleaned the tunnels of rubbish and now it is possible to venture underground and find an amazing part of Neapolitan history.
We entered the tunnel at the Via Morelli entrance. (There is another one in Vico Del Grottone). We eventually found the entrance which is inside the Morelli Car Park. (Signage is not a priority)
A delightful guide took us on a walk through the tunnel.
Just past the entrance is a huge Art Deco style marble statue of Aurelio Padovani, an early Neapolitan Fascist trade unionist who participated in Mussolini’s march on Rome in 1922. The statue was dumped into the tunnel in 1943 as the allies closed in on Naples…nobody wanted to be seen to be profascist.
Art Deco was very stylised. The poster beside the broken statue shows what Aurelio actually looked like.
After the war this part of the tunnel became the place where impounded vehicles were stored until the practice stopped in the 1970s. Beyond Aurelio is a collection of old vehicles, still sitting where they were left all those years ago.
There is a row of “Ginori” toilets in this area of the tunnel. We saw much more basic arrangements further on.
You can see war relics and see the alarm that was set off when bombs were about to fall.
As we walked on we could see the huge water storage cisterns that form part of the tunnel. Naples is a city built largely on tuff, or tufa, a light, yet strong rock formed from volcanic ash. It is an excellent building material so it was quarried and brought up through shafts.
The caverns formed from the process were later used as reservoirs into which water was diverted from aqueducts.
Small men, called Pozzari, were employed to maintain the cisterns. They had to be small to get through the tiny entrances. Their job was extremely dangerous as they had to climb down perilous ladders formed by holes dug in the walls of the cisterns with only candles to light the way.
Pozzari were also called Munaciello, little monk, named for the bizarre spirit who was the source of urban legend. Sometimes the Pozzari/Munacielli were not paid and it is said that they used to creep into the houses of their employers and steal or create mischief. (What kind of idiot would not pay someone who was looking after their water supply?)
The system was used until 1885 when a cholera epidemic forced the closure. With the cisterns no longer being used they became rubbish dumps. Residents would throw their rubbish down the wells into the spaces below.
The cleaning of the tunnels goes on and it is possible to see the work in progress.
During WWII the tunnel served as an air raid shelter and military hospital providing aid and protection to up to 10,000 Neapolitans. There was no time to clean out the debris dumped in the tunnel, so soil was thrown in to cover it.
The walls were whitewashed to help brighten the area and make it look a bit cleaner.
We came to the saddest part of the tunnel where the evidence of this dreadful time is there to be seen…the remnants of the hospital and toys and every day items left behind by those who sheltered there.
People interviewed years later recalled that the times they spent as children in the tunnel were happy times. Their parents were free from the worry of bombs falling and the children were allowed to play.
Some of the highlighted graffiti on the walls shows the positive spirit of the people who sheltered in the tunnel.
We live.
Photos show a sad story.
Here are the other toilets, in the area reserved for poorer Neapolitans…just a hole in the floor.
After the war the tunnel was forgotten again until 2007 when geologists working on a nearby tunnel discovered the extensive system. The Associazione Cultural Borbonica Sotterranea opened the tunnel to the public after years of cleaning and restoration work.
The tour is excellent. Our guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and had some wonderful tales to tell.
Don’t miss this if you go to Naples.
As well as the walks through the tunnel there are rafting and Cave tours for the more adventurous…perhaps another time.
Tickets for the guided tour cost €15.
Phone…(39) 366 2484151
mail@galleriaborbonica.com