On the western side of the Bay of Naples, just within the Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic landscape that includes Baiae, Miseno, and Cuma, you’ll find the town of Bacoli. It lies about 9 miles west of central Naples, roughly 15 miles by road, and stretches over low hills and coastal lakes such as Fusaro and Miseno, whose shorelines still show the area’s geological restlessness. Today, Bacoli has around 25,000 residents, many of whom live in neighborhoods layered on top of ancient walls, staircases, and piers that still emerge from gardens and courtyards.
Back in Roman times, it was known as Bauli, and it was a famous seaside resort near Baiae where aristocrats kept villas. Indeed, the toponym appears in Tacitus and Suetonius in accounts of Nero’s mother Agrippina, whose final days were linked to a villa there. Over time, Bauli became Bacoli, but the Roman imprint stayed visible in the terraces, baths, and fishponds built along this coast.
