pozzuoli
 
The first town that can really be considered free of Naples' sprawl is POZZUOLI , which sits on a stout promontory jutting out from the slender crescent of volcanic hills behind. Despite achieving some glamour as the hometown of Sophia Loren, it's an ordinary little place, nothing special but likeable enough, with ferry connections to the islands of Prócida and Ischia . And although you wouldn't want to stay here , it's a good first stop before travelling on to the rest of the Campi Flegrei. You can get there from Naples on the metropolitana from Piazza Garibaldi, or on the Ferrovia Cumanarail line from Montesanto station; both take about twenty minutes. Bus #152 also runs direct from Piazza Garibaldi.

Pozzuoli has suffered more than most of the towns around here from the area's volcanic activity. Twenty years ago a minor tremor caused a number of buildings to collapse, and subsidence is still a major - and carefully monitored - problem. The best time to come is on Sunday, when the whole town turns out for the morning fish market, afterwards eating lunch in one of several waterfront restaurants: Il Capitano (closed Tues) near the dock on Lungomare C. Colombo is decent; or there's Don Antonio (no closing day), up narrow Via Magazzini off the old port, which specializes in excellent fresh fish and seafood. In town there are a number of relics of the Romans' liking for the place. The rather overgrown Anfiteatro Flavio (daily 9am-1hr before sunset; L4000/2.07), on Via Domiziana just north of the centre, was at one time the third largest in Italy and is still reasonably well preserved, although some parts are shut off to the public - a little illicit clambering over fences might enable you to get a better sense of the place. Not far from here, beyond the Cumana station between Via Roma and Via Sacchini, a Temple of Serapide sits enclosed within a small park, often flooded in winter, but, otherwise, accessible - and in fact since proved to be not a temple at all but a market hall from the first century AD. It's pretty ruined, but it is still possible to make out the shape of the building, its three freestanding marble columns eaten away halfway up by shellfish.

Just north of town, ten minutes' walk up the hill from the metropolitana /FS station (bus #152 from Piazza Garibaldi in Naples stops outside), the Solfatara (daily 9am-1hr before sunset; L8000/4.13) is further, and tangible, evidence of the volcanic nature of the area, the exposed crater of a semi-extinct volcano - into which you can walk - that hasn't erupted for a couple of thousand years; in fact, it was a major tourist attraction in Roman times too. Not surprisingly, it's a weird place: steam rises from the rocks around and the grey-yellow ground is hot to the touch (and sounds hollow to the stamp), emitting eerily silent jets or fumaroles that leave the air pungent with sulphurous fumes. Some of the fumaroles have been covered artificially with brick, creating an almost unbearably warm, sauna-like environment into which you can bend if you can stand it, while others are just left open. You can hire a guide on site (from L25,000/12.91) to steer you clear of the dangerous parts, but it's not really necessary - there's a clearly marked route and it's far more fun exploring the site on your own.

A short, three-minute walk further up the hill on the right, the sixteenth-century Santuario di San Gennaro (daily 9am-noon & 4.30-8pm) was built on the supposed site of the martyrdom of Naples' patron saint and holds a stone stained with splashes of his blood (he was beheaded) that apparently glows when his blood liquefies in Naples, which it does three times a year .