Lake Avernus

Lake Avernus (Italian: Lago d'Averno) is a volcanic crater lake located in the Avernus crater in the Campania region of southern Italy, around 4 km (2.5 mi) west of Pozzuoli. It is near the volcanic field known as the Phlegraean Fields (Campi Flegrei) and comprises part of the wider Campanian volcanic arc. The lake is roughly circular, measuring 2 km (1.2 mi) in circumference and 60 m (213 ft) deep.

Lake Avernus
Lake Avernus
Lake Avernus
LocationCampania
Coordinates40°50′18″N 14°04′30″E
Typecrater lake
Native nameLago d'Averno  (Italian)
Basin countriesItaly
Max. depth60 m (200 ft)
Surface elevation1 m (3 ft 3 in)

Roman era

Avernus was of major importance to the Romans, who considered it to be the entrance to Hades. Roman writers often used the name as a synonym for the underworld. In Virgil's Aeneid, Aeneas descends to the underworld through a cave near the lake. In Hyginus' Fabulae, Odysseus also goes to the lower world from this spot, where he meets Elpenor, his comrade who went missing at Circe's place.[1]

Lake Avernus I by Richard Wilson, c. 1765

Despite the alleged dangers of the lake, the Romans were happy to settle its shores, on which villas and vineyards were established. The lake's personification, the deus Avernus, was worshipped in lakeside temples. A large bathhouse was built on the eastern shore of the lake.

In 37 BC, the Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa converted the lake into a naval base named the Portus Julius after Julius Caesar. It was linked by a canal to a nearby lake (Lucrinus Lacus) and, from there, to the sea. The lake shore was also connected to the Greek colony of Cumae by an underground passage known as Cocceio's Cave (Grotta di Cocceio), which was 1 km (0.62 mi) long and wide enough to be used by chariots. This was the world's first major road tunnel; it remained usable until as recently as the 1940s.

Italian era

The Borboni, the Naples-ruling members of the House of Bourbon, owned the lake until 1750 when they ceded it to another aristocratic family, who in turn sold it, in 1991, to the Cardillo family. In 2010, a 55-hectare (0.55 km2) tract of land—including the lake, a lakefront restaurant, B&B and disco—was seized by the police after the owner was accused of being a mafia frontman (for the Casalesi).[2]

In the pre-modern era, Italian geographers also called Lago Averno the Lago di Tripergola.[3][4][5] It was named after the nearby village of Tripergola, which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1538.[6]

References

Citations
  1. hyginus, fabulae 125
  2. The Guardian (11 July 2010). "Italian police seize land around Lake Avernus on suspicion of mafia links"
  3. Dictionnaire mythologique universel (in French). F. Didot frères. 1846. p. 62. Le lac est encore connu aujourd'hui sous le nom de lago d'Averno ou lago di Tripergola. [="The lake is still known today under the name of lago d'Averno or lago di Tripergola."]
  4. Brewster, David (1830). The Edinburgh Encyclopædia. 3. p. 97. [The lake Avernus] is situated near Puzzuoli in the province of Terra di Lavoro, and is called by the modern Italians Lago d'Averno and Lago di Tripergola.
  5. Ricciolio, Giovanni Baptista (1661). Geographiæ et Hydrographiæ Reformatæ Libri duodecim (in Latin). ex typographia Haeredis Victorii Benatii. p. 608. Lago di Tripergola. Avernus lacus. Campaniæ.
  6. The Quarterly journal of science, literature and art. 1822. p. 424. Account of the Rise of Monte Nuovo, in the Year 1538 [...] the earth opened near Tripergola with a terrible sound like thunder

Sources
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