During the early decades of the 1st century BC, interest in the Parthenopean area experienced a revival. According to several historians, the Cumaeans—encouraged by Hiero of Syracuse, who had gained control over the Tyrrhenian Sea—were prompted to establish a new settlement that would assume the political and economic roles once held by Parthenope. From this […]
Threads of The Sea: 3. Parthenope: The Ancient Heart of Napoli
For millennia, Greeks, Phoenicians, and Etruscans vied for dominion over the Mediterranean. As the latin historian Titus Livius tells us (Ab Urbe condita VIII, 22) after colonizing Cumae, the Greeks foundedParthenope and Dicearchia ( modern-day Pozzuoli). Parthenope stood on a hill surrounded on three sides by the sea: To the west lay the Chiaia beach; […]
Threads of The Sea: 1.The Mediterranean Basin
Close your eyes. Imagine a world without the familiar comforts of cities, without the written word to record our thoughts and deeds. Can you feel the vastness of time stretching back to an era when humanity’s story was just beginning to be etched onto the landscape? Before we speak about our cultural heritage, it’s crucial […]