Send Gift Baskets to Pozzuoli, Italy

In 531 BC, refugees from Samos escaped from the Polycrates’ rule and founded the Greek colony of Dicaearchia (Greek: ) with the consent of nearby Cumae.

After conquering Cumae, the Samnites occupied Dicaearchia and changed its name to Fistelia. As a result of the excellent location of its port in the Campanian hinterland, it enjoyed considerable political and commercial autonomy.

From 341 BC onwards, the Roman occupation of Campania marked the beginning of the Romanisation of Greek-Samnite cities.

The port of Puteoli was strategically crucial to Rome during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), so it strengthened its defenses and introduced a garrison to guard it against Hannibal, who failed to capture the town in 215. 195 BC marked the beginning of its Roman colonization.

Because of the Roman conquest of the east and the need for a port for trade, it became the Mediterranean port of Rome, despite its 150-mile distance. An alternative etymology of Puteoli refers to the sulfuric fumes in the area, mainly from Solfatara. Its name is derived from the Latin puteus (well or cistern).

In the Roman world, Puteoli became the great emporium for Alexandrian grain ships and others. In addition to blown glass, mosaics, wrought iron, and marble, it was the central hub for exports from Campania. According to Lucilius, it was second only to Delos in importance, then the most important harbor in ancient times. A multilingual population established trading and transport companies (stations). It formed professional guilds for arts and crafts and religious associations for foreign cults, including Greeks from the islands and the coast of Asia, Jews, and later Christians. It was Italy’s most important center of foreign trade during the Roman Empire. Tyre’s transaction with Tyre was so crucial that in 174, the Tyrians established a factory there (C.I. no. 5853).

In the ancient world, the largest naval fleet was housed at the Roman base at nearby Misenum. In 78 BC, Roman dictator Sulla died at his country’s villa here. Mentions Puteoli as the site of Fulvius Hirpinus’ cochlearium, famous for raising exquisite snails, and Cicero owned a house there and an estate nearby on the Lucrine Lake.