Pozzuoli and Baia in the Phlegraean Fields

The artwork

At the bottom left, in front of Pozzuoli, a row of broken arches emerges from the sea: these are the piers of the Roman mole, which at the time this print was made were believed to be Caligula's bridge. You receive it printed on handmade Amalfi paper, with a handmade frame.

Caligula's bridge really did exist, but it was made of boats: in 39 AD, the emperor connected Baia to the mole of Pozzuoli with two rows of anchored cargo ships covered with earth, for about 3,600 paces. Suetonius writes that he crossed it for two days, the first time on horseback wearing a golden cloak, the second time in a chariot. The reason, it was said, was a prophecy: the astrologer Trasillus had assured Tiberius that Caligula had as much chance of becoming emperor as of running on horseback across the Gulf of Baia. The arches of the mole, on the other hand, remained visible until the early twentieth century, when they were incorporated into the modern port breakwater.

These are two views, one above the other, from the second volume of the Civitates orbis terrarum by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg, published in Cologne in 1575, engraved on copper. At the top is Pozzuoli, which the plate also calls "Pussol", with the gulf and Baia in the background and, on the beach, a shipyard where boats are being built; below, the castle of Baia and the ruins of a temple covered in plants, with a muleteer and two travelers with their arms raised. The copy, which is not colored, comes from the David Rumsey Map Collection.

It looks great in a bright kitchen or along a hallway, and it is a gift for anyone born in the Phlegraean Fields or who spends their summers there. And on the plate, in front of Pozzuoli, those broken arches are still Caligula's bridge.

Unique quality materials

Print on handmade Amalfi paper
Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm
With frame: 31 x 44 cm
Material: artwork printed on the finest handmade Amalfi paper with deckle edges
Frame: dark brown with gold fillet, handmade, with glass