Parco Vergiliano

Naples


Head up the steep steps at this off-the-radar park and you'll find yourself peering into the world's longest Roman tunnel. Designed by the architect Lucius Cocceius Auctus, the 700m-long engineering feat once linked Naples to Pozzuoli. At the top of the steps lies the tomb of Virgil, who died in Brindisi in 19 BC. Legend has it that the Roman poet's remains were carted to Naples and buried in this Augustan-era vault.

Also buried in the park is 19th-century poet Giacomo Leopardi.

Transportation

  • metro: Mergellina

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Naples attractions

1. Piazzetta del Leone

0.17 MILES

This semi-circular piazzetta (small square) is named for its somewhat battered-looking protagonist, a marble lion whose origins remain unknown (in spite…

2. Porto di Mergellina

0.34 MILES

Once home to the area's fishing fleet, Mergellina's marina is now a crowd-pulling combo of anchored yachts and kitsch Neapolitan chalets, neon-lit seaside…

3. La Torretta di Mergellina

0.35 MILES

Mergellina's broad boulevards seem a world away from La Torretta di Mergellina, a warren of earthy streets where the neighbourhood's fishermen once lived…

4. Molo Luise

0.42 MILES

Nicknamed the 'Moletto', this hulking pier protects the Porto di Mergellina from the open sea. It's a popular place for locals (both human and feline),…

5. Thomas Dane Gallery

0.73 MILES

London's Thomas Dane Gallery has injected added buzz to the Naples' art scene with the opening of its first Italian branch. The gallery sits inside 19th…

6. Palazzo Donn'Anna

0.74 MILES

Incomplete, semiderelict yet hauntingly beautiful, this seaside Posillipo villa takes its name from Anna Carafa, for whom it was built as a wedding…

7. Museo Pignatelli

0.87 MILES

When Ferdinand Acton, a minister at the court of King Ferdinand IV (1759–1825), asked Pietro Valente to design Villa Pignatelli in 1826, Valente whipped…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "italy/campania/naples/attractions/parco-vergiliano/a/poi-sig/422651/359879",
      "destination": "Naples",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Italy",
      "city": "Naples",
      "position": "superzone"
    }