Carved into the cliff of tuff overlooking the beach of Misenum, there is a Roman cistern called Dragonara, characterized by a quadrangular plan divided into five naves by three rows of twelve large pillars carved into the tuff, with wall lining in opus reticulatum and a coating of cocciopesto. Originally it was accessible from above through three large openings in the barrel vault. Thanks to recent excavations, a basin surfaced, lined with hydraulic cocciopesto, accessible by steps and featuring an inclined plane towards an opening communicating with an underlying cistern. According to some scholars, the cistern served to supply the ships of the Misenum fleet, but it cannot be excluded that it should be related to the spaces pertaining to a residential villa located further south on the beach, possibly identifiable based on literary sources as belonging to Lucullus, who died there under the reign of Tiberius, and was later acquired by the imperial demesne.
Information on Dragonara Cave
Via Dragonara
80070 Bacoli (Naples)
+39.081.5235593 (custodial supervisor); +39.081.5233797 (Office for Archaeological Heritage of Baia)
ssba-na@beniculturali.it
Source: MIBACT
