Galleria Borbonica in Naples, Italy (angelo chiariello)

The ancient Greeks founded a settlement at Naples in the 8th century BC. They were the first to dig underground aqueducts to transport water around town. Later, Romans found huge, deep veins of lightweight volcanic tuff under the city. They carved blocks from the tuff and brought them to the surface to build, leaving large open caverns underground. Over time these caverns were used as water cisterns, with more aqueducts, wells and access tunnels added to them throughout the centuries.

Inside this intricate network of underground canals, “Monaciello,” which means “little monk” in Neapolitan can access the city’s houses, villas and palaces. This little spirit is the only one who truly knows all the secrets below Naples. He is the remnant of a historical “pozzari,” the workers who maintained the supply system and kept the waterways clear and clean.

Silhouette of a boy in a dark tunnel. Undeground way under Pula. (Tatiana Ermakova)

Monaciello remembers that people didn’t pay him well and is the one to blame when tricks get played and coins are stolen. He can cause mischief and has been known to harass women. On the other hand, he will also help people by leaving a few coins when they are in dire straits. Perhaps you will run into Monaciello on a tour at Napoli Sotterranea, where you get to see the ancient Greek and Roman ruins and old tunnels.

Another option to get underground is at the Galleria Borbonica. This tunnel was created in 1853 by Ferdinand II Bourbon, King of Naples. He feared citizen uprisings and wanted the tunnel to connect the royal palace with the local military compound. It is a huge underground space, designed to allow a carriage to carry the king to safety, and for troops to move unnoticed.

During its construction, the diggers encountered other aqueducts and cisterns and had to reroute several times. Bourbon’s escape was used during WWII as a shelter, and later a storage unit for impounded vehicles. There are various tours through the tunnel and its many off-shoots, including an adventure tour that concludes by floating on a raft through a now-flooded abandoned subway tunnel. Look out for Monaciello along the way.

Underground Naples (antveral@hotmail.it)