Pozzuoli

Pozzuoli Pozzule (Neapolitan)
Comune
Comune di Pozzuoli
Rione Terra, the first settlement
Flag Coat of arms
Pozzuoli Location within Campania Pozzuoli Location within Italy
Coordinates: 40°50′40″N 14°05′36″E
Country	Italy
Region	Campania
Metropolitan city	Naples (NA)
Frazioni	Arco Felice, Campana Annunziata, Cuma, Licola Centro, Licola Lido, Lucrino, Montenuovo, Monterusciello, Pisciarelli, Toiano
Government
• Mayor	Luigi Manzoni (PD)
Area
• Total	43.44 km2 (16.77 sq mi)
Elevation	28 m (92 ft)
Population  (2026)
• Total	74,665
• Density	1,719/km2 (4,452/sq mi)
Demonym	Puteolani
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	80078, 80014, 80125
Dialing code	081
Patron saint	St. Proculus
Saint day	16 November
Website	Official website

Pozzuoli and surroundings

Pozzuoli (Italian: [potˈtswɔːli]; Neapolitan: Pozzule [pətˈtsuːlə]; Latin: Puteoli) is a city and comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the region of Campania in southern Italy. The main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula, it has 74,665 inhabitants.

Pozzuoli, known in antiquity as Puteoli, was established in 531 BC as the Greek colony of Dicaearchia by refugees fleeing the tyranny of Polycrates on Samos. During the Second Punic War (218–201 BC), the city's fortified harbor withstood the advances of the Carthaginian general Hannibal. Following the Romanization of Campania, Rome established a colony at Puteoli in 194 BC. The region was important for its pozzolana, a volcanic sand essential to the production of Roman concrete.

At its peak during the late Republic and early Empire, Puteoli was the primary commercial port of Rome, despite being located 150 mi (241.40 km) from the capital. The city played a role in the import of wheat from Egypt to Rome and became home to a mixed population that included Greeks, Jews, Nabataeans, Phoenician merchants, and early Christians. The city began to decline in the mid-1st century AD as the emperors Claudius and Trajan expanded the port of Ostia in Latium to provide a direct gateway to the Tiber. In the late 5th century AD, fall of the Western Roman Empire further weakened the city, which was then sacked by the Visigoths, Vandals, and Ostrogoths.