After we moved here, it took almost three months to finally settle in a home. We landed on a place in Pozzuoli, about four miles outside of Naples. There, we are fortunate to be living near Lago d’Averno. We have amazing views of the lake, the Tyrrhenian Sea, Monte Di Procida, and Capri.
Lago d’Averno is a volcanic crater lake, and the Ancient Romans considered this lake to be the entrance to Hades. Its name is from a Greek word meaning “birdless,” referring to their belief that birds who flew over the lake dropped dead because of the poisonous fumes it emitted. Fortunately, there are no birds that drop dead over the lake, and there aren’t any poisonous fumes (we hope!).
Our Home near Lago d’Averno
A lemon tree decorated the yard, as well as two small palm trees and an area to grow grapes. We would pick lemons off of our tree, and the landlord would give us oranges from his orange tree. In addition, Maya loved the new yard. It was a great space for her to chew bones in the grass!
The weather is gorgeous In Naples in November! The temperatures are in the low 60s and mixed with clear sunny days. As a result, it made us want to sit on our sofa lounger, drink wine, and look out on the world around us each day.
Seeing the Sites
Living near Lago d’Averno gave us a wonderful area to run or take Maya for a walk. We went to the lake often. Our first time going there, we walked straight from our home. As we searched for an entrance to the path, we came upon an agriturismo, which is a vineyard/restaurant/farm. The owners showed us around and picked oranges off of their tree for us to eat. After giving us their business card, they pointed us in the right direction. Oranges in hand, we continued on.
While walking around the lake, we came across The Temple of Apollo. Built in the 2nd century, this thermal complex had a dome roof almost the size of the Pantheon’s in Rome. It’s funny, I can’t even count how many times I have passed by this temple as I went to the lake several times a week. Still, its presence was noted each time!
Many people use the flat one mile path to walk their dogs, run, or simply catch up with friends. The weekdays were the best time to go as it was pretty empty. Since there aren’t many sidewalks and the drivers are just a little crazy, it was so nice having this as an option to walk Maya or take a run!
