Lake Avernus

Lake Avernus Lago d'Averno
Location	Campania
Coordinates
Type	crater lake
Basin countries	Italy
Max. depth	60 m (200 ft)
Surface elevation	1 m (3 ft 3 in)

Lake Avernus (or Lago d'Averno in Italian) is a volcanic crater lake located in the Avernus crater in the Campania region of southern Italy, around 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of Pozzuoli. It is near the volcanic field known as the Campi Flegrei and comprises part of the wider Campanian volcanic arc. The lake is roughly circular, measuring 2 km (1.2 mi) in circumference and 60 m (213 ft) deep.

Avernus was of major importance to the Romans, who considered it to be the entrance to Hades. The name Avernus was often used by Roman writers as a synonym for the underworld. In Virgil's Aeneid, Aeneas descends to the underworld through a cave near the lake. In Hyginus' Fabulae, Odysseus also goes to the lower world from this spot where he meets Elpenor, his comrade who went missing at Circe's place.

Lake Avernus I by Richard Wilson, c. 1765

Despite the alleged dangers of the lake, the Romans were happy to settle its shores, on which villas and vineyards were established. The lake's personification, the deus Avernus, was worshiped in lakeside temples, and a large bathhouse was built on the eastern shore of the lake.

In 37 BC, the Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa converted the lake into a naval base named the Portus Julius after Julius Caesar. It was linked by a canal to a nearby lake (Lucrinus Lacus) and from there to the sea. The lake shore was also connected to the Greek colony of Cumae by an underground passage known as Cocceio's Cave (Grotta di Cocceio) which was 1 km (0.62 mi) long and wide enough to be used by chariots. This was the world's first major road tunnel; it remained usable until as recently as the 1940s.

In 2010 a tract of land, including the volcanic lake, was seized by the police after the owner was accused of being a mafia frontman.

This lake was called by Italian geographers, Lago di Tripergola.

References

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