There is no mountain here. The ground breathes – a caldera of 77 square miles, in the middle of a city.
The columns of the Macellum show how far it has already sunk and risen again.
Today it is rising once more: about half an inch a month, and the earth shakes.
Scroll –
the ground is moving
The INGV weekly bulletin of 22 September 2026 counts five earthquakes for the week of 14–20 September (Md 2.0 at most); the ground at Pozzuoli is rising 10 ± 3 mm per month. In the short term the institute sees “no elements suggesting a significant development”. The civil protection alert level has been yellow since 2012, and phase 2 since the emergency plan of 30 October 2025. For you this means: the excavations are open, the Solfatara is not – and after every stronger earthquake the park closes its sites for safety checks.
The best-known crater has been closed since three people died in 2017 when the ground gave way. The courts released the site in February 2025, and the regional park is planning guided visits with CO₂ meters – there is no date. On 13 July 2026 a fire burned on the crater slope.
The Castello di Baia with its museum, the Terme di Baia, Cuma and the Anfiteatro Flavio are open; the amphitheater with a restricted route since the earthquake. Since 8 April 2026 tickets are sold only through the “Musei Italiani” portal – no ticket office on site.
Europe's youngest volcano (born in 1538) has a loop trail onto the crater rim, free, from 9 am until one hour before sunset. The lakeside path around Lake Averno is always open. Both are on foot from the Cumana stop Lucrino.
The tuff spur of ancient Puteoli with its cathedral and underground route has been closed since the earthquake of 31 July 2026 (Md 4.7). Palazzo Migliaresi and Sedile dei Nobili are unusable; the opening of the restored quarter planned for summer 2026 did not happen.
Photo: Norbert Nagel · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Campi Flegrei are not a volcano you climb. You walk around inside it. Pozzuoli sits in the middle of the caldera, and the proof stands by the harbor: the three columns of the Macellum. Up to 7 m (23 ft) they are riddled with boring mollusks – that is how deep the Roman market once lay beneath the sea before the ground lifted it again. Since November 2005 it has been rising once more, about 1.7 m (5.6 ft) in total. You cannot see it. You feel it when the earth shakes.
The experience today is different from before 2017. Back then you stood in the Solfatara at the edge of boiling mud pools. Today you only smell the hydrothermal system: at Lake Averno, and on the road at Pisciarelli, where the caldera's most active fumarole field steams behind the fence of the INGV monitoring station. In return you get something no other volcano offers: Roman imperial palaces that bradyseism pushed into the sea. In Baia, villas, mosaics and statues lie at 2–5 m (7–16 ft) depth – seen from a glass-bottom boat, with a snorkel or on a dive.
And Monte Nuovo: a cone 133 m (436 ft) high that grew in eight days in 1538 and buried a village. Its crater is a forest today with a loop trail, an hour and a half, free. From the rim you see Lake Averno, the gulf and Ischia – and understand that the next eruption of this caldera does not have to happen in a crater, but anywhere.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 22 September 2026. As of 09/2026 the submerged park lies outside any closure; trips are cancelled in wind and swell. None of these tours includes the Solfatara – it is closed.
Photo: Ruthven · CC0
In 2026 the Parco Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei switched its ticket sales completely. Anyone who walks up to the ticket office as they used to finds a closed door.
Since 8 April 2026 the park sells only through portale.museiitaliani.it or the “Musei Italiani” app; at Cuma the ticket office closed on 29 June 2026. The “Circuito flegreo” combined ticket (€10) is valid for three days at all four sites.
Castello, Terme di Baia and Cuma: at most 50 people per 30 minutes, stay 120 minutes. Anfiteatro Flavio: only 25 people per half hour, 30 minutes in the underground level. Groups of 10 or more book in advance.
Monday: Castello and Terme di Baia closed. Tuesday: Cuma and the amphitheater closed. Piscina Mirabilis in Bacoli only Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday with accompanied entry (CoopCulture, €5).
After every stronger swarm the park closes its sites for safety checks (as on 24 June, 31 July and 10 August 2026) and announces reopenings on its news page. Tickets already bought are refunded.
| Single ticket per site (Castello di Baia with museum, Terme di Baia, Cuma, Anfiteatro Flavio) · reduced for EU citizens aged 18–25 €2 · under 18 free | €5 |
| “Circuito flegreo” combined ticket, four sites, valid three days · reduced €5 | €10 |
| Annual pass myFleg (four sites, with reservation) / myCastello (Castello di Baia only) | €20 / €10 |
| Oasi naturalistica Monte Nuovo · lakeside path Lake Averno | free |
| Submerged park of Baia: park ticket per dive trip / per snorkel trip, plus operator · dive with the concession holder €35 | €5 / €3 |
| Piscina Mirabilis, Bacoli, accompanied entry · ages 6–18 reduced, under 6 free | €5 |
| Metro Linea 2 Naples–Pozzuoli Solfatara: single ride / 90-minute integrated ticket / day pass | €1.50 / €1.80 / €4.50 |
Photo: Norbert Nagel · CC BY-SA 3.0
There is no summit and no cable car. There are loop trails, ruins and a submerged park. The elevation gain is modest; the summer heat is not.
From the main gate on Via Virgilio (Cumana stop Lucrino, 10 minutes) onto the crater rim and into the wooded crater. About 120 m (390 ft) of climbing on loose tuff, 1–1.5 hours. On foot only, 9 am until one hour before sunset, Sundays and public holidays 9 am–1 pm.
Flat loop around the crater lake, about an hour, always open, past the so-called Temple of Apollo (a bath hall, 2nd century). 15 minutes on foot from Lucrino. The Grotta della Sibilla on the shore is not accessible.
The oldest Greek colony on the Italian mainland: the Antro della Sibilla (at most 25 people at a time), a climb to the acropolis with a view of the coast. From the Cumana stop Fusaro by bus or on foot. Closed Tuesday.
Dive or snorkel trip of 1.5 to 2.5 hours from Baia or Lido Montenuovo, usually April to October. Zone A only with a guide from a licensed center; groups of up to eight divers.
Photo: Gerd Fahrenhorst · Public domain
Without a car: Two railways from Naples: (1) Metro Linea 2 (Trenitalia) from Napoli Piazza Garibaldi via Montesanto, Mergellina, Campi Flegrei, Bagnoli-Agnano to the terminus Pozzuoli Solfatara (about every 8 minutes, €1.50; Solfatara entrance and Anfiteatro Flavio 10–15 minutes on foot). (2) Cumana (EAV, line L9) from Napoli Montesanto via Fuorigrotta, Bagnoli, Pozzuoli (new station Via Fasano since 11 September 2026), Gerolomini, Arco Felice, Lucrino (Monte Nuovo, Averno), Baia (baths, castle), Fusaro (Cuma by bus/on foot) to Torregaveta; fares by zone about €1.50–2.60 (UnicoCampania), every 15 minutes to Bagnoli, every 30 minutes on the whole line. After the earthquake of 31 July 2026 the Bagnoli–Torregaveta section was interrupted until 10 September 2026. EAV buses also serve the Anfiteatro; the port of Pozzuoli has ferries to Ischia and Procida (operating again since 2 August 2026).
By car: Tangenziale di Napoli, exits Pozzuoli/Via Campana or Agnano; for Baia and Cuma continue on the SS7 quater/Via Domiziana. Parking: Anfiteatro (roadside, scarce), Castello di Baia (small lot at the ramp), Cuma (lot at the entrance), Monte Nuovo (lot at the gate). In Pozzuoli, streets and buildings have been cordoned off since the earthquake – follow the signs.
April to June and September/October: pleasant temperatures in the shadeless ruins of Baia and Cuma, clear views from the Castello di Baia across the gulf, underwater visibility in the submerged park usually good. For the sites, come in the morning right at opening at 9 am (quotas per 30 minutes). In high summer only early or in the evening (Saturday evening openings at the Castello di Baia in summer 2026); shorter hours in winter (the Terme di Baia close one hour before sunset).
Photo: Falk2 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The selection is thin: the Campi Flegrei are not a mass destination, and most offers are private or small. None of them includes the Solfatara.
Affiliate links to GetYourGuide: if you book, we earn a commission and the price stays the same. Prices and ratings as of 22 September 2026.
Photo: Norbert Nagel · CC BY-SA 3.0
Yes. The excavations of Baia and Cuma and the Anfiteatro Flavio in Pozzuoli are open as of 22 September 2026, and Monte Nuovo and Lake Averno are freely accessible. Closed are the Solfatara (since 2017) and the Rione Terra (since the earthquake of 31 July 2026).
No. The crater has been closed since 12 September 2017. The site was released in February 2025, and the regional park is planning guided visits with CO₂ meters – as of September 2026 without a date. Do not book tours that promise the Solfatara.
According to the INGV weekly bulletin of 22 September 2026, the ground at the Rione Terra station is rising about 10 ± 3 mm per month, about 31.5 cm (12 in) since January 2025 and about 168.5 cm (5.5 ft) since November 2005. In the week of 14–20 September 2026 there were five earthquakes up to Md 2.0; in August 2026 there were 428 up to Md 3.4.
Md 4.7 (Mw 4.4), with its focus about 3 km (2 miles) deep between Pozzuoli and Quarto – the strongest since records began. 21 people were injured and hundreds of buildings evacuated; the port, the Cumana and the park sites were temporarily closed.
By Metro Linea 2 from Piazza Garibaldi to the terminus Pozzuoli Solfatara (€1.50, about 30 minutes), or by Cumana from Montesanto to Pozzuoli, Lucrino (Monte Nuovo, Averno), Baia or Fusaro (Cuma). The Cumana has been running through again since 11 September 2026.
Yes, as a second or third day on the bay: the amphitheater, Baia (castle and baths) and Monte Nuovo/Averno fit into one day. If you have only one day, stick with Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii – there the mountain stands on its own, here the city stands on top of it.
The excavations (Castello di Baia, Terme di Baia, Cuma, Anfiteatro) are open as of 22 September 2026, the Rione Terra is closed, the Solfatara has been closed since 2017. The alert level is yellow; for the week of 14–20 September 2026 INGV reports only five weak earthquakes and sees no signs of a short-term escalation. Earthquakes like the one of 31 July 2026 (Md 4.7) are possible at any time, though.
Yellow ('Attenzione'), since December 2012, and since the plan of 30 October 2025 as phase 2 (medium disequilibrium). Orange would be pre-alarm, red means evacuation of the red zone (about 500,000 people) within 72 hours. The level is set by civil protection, the data come from the INGV Osservatorio Vesuviano.
Each site of the Parco Archeologico costs €5 (reduced €2, under 18 free); the combined ticket for all four sites costs €10 and is valid for three days. Since April 2026 online only at portale.museiitaliani.it. Monte Nuovo and Lake Averno are free.
A full day is enough for the Anfiteatro, Baia (castle and baths) and Monte Nuovo/Averno; the quotas limit the stay at each site to 120 minutes (underground level of the Anfiteatro 30 minutes). Cuma and the submerged park need a second day.
Yes: short, flat walks, an amphitheater with cellars, a glass-bottom boat over the Roman villas, a crater loop on Monte Nuovo. Children and teenagers under 18 pay nothing in the excavations.
Sturdy shoes (tuff on Monte Nuovo, slippery mosaics in Baia), in summer a hat, sun protection and plenty of water – the ruins have hardly any shade. For the submerged park the operator provides mask and wetsuit.
Stay in the open, keep away from façades, walls and steep slopes; indoors get under door lintels or tables. Then wait for instructions from the staff – the park closes the sites for checks and refunds tickets. Follow IT-alert messages from civil protection.
Yes, the national civil protection emergency plan (updated 30 October 2025): at level red the red zone (Pozzuoli, Bacoli, Monte di Procida, Quarto, parts of Giugliano, Marano and Naples, about 500,000 people) is evacuated in 72 hours, and each municipality is assigned a host region. In addition there is the rapid plan for bradyseism (DL 140/2023) with drills in 2024 and in November 2025.
Yes, by diving (€35 plus €5 park ticket with the concession holder), snorkeling (€3 park ticket plus operator) or glass-bottom boat. The ruins lie only 2–5 m (7–16 ft) deep; zone A may be visited only with a guide.
Sources · accessed on 22 September 2026
