The sandy shore of Miseno

About this activity

Miseno is a hamlet of the municipality of Bacoli in the Phlegraean Fields. An ancient Cuman landing place and Roman military settlement, today it is known for the vast coastline communicating with the Miliscola beach. In particular, the nearby mountain of Capo Miseno is the extreme tip of the Phlegrean peninsula, offering a view of the Gulf of Naples and the islands of Ischia and Procida.

The beaches are not very large and are characterized by shallow sandy bottoms before reaching the open sea, so they are also suitable for families with children. The shoreline in summer is very busy both during the day and in the evening. There is no shortage of lidos, establishments and restaurants used as nightclubs and bars. At sunset, in fact, when the beach begins to break up, you can enjoy a lovely view immersed in a relaxing atmosphere in the company of a good aperitif spending a pleasant evening by the sea. Sometimes clubs organize events, turning into real outdoor discos. Along the Miseno coastline leading to the mountain, there are both shores that areas used for free beach, although in the latter case we are talking about very restricted spaces. Among the lidos there are some reserved for military personnel, such as the Lido Esercito, Marina Militare, Aereonautica and Vigili del Fuoco; in addition, under the slogan "Il mare è per tutti" (The sea is for everyone) the Pro Handicap Lido was also inaugurated: this is an establishment dedicated to people with severe disabilities who cannot and should not give up their right to the sea.

Cape Miseno in the movies

A symbol of the mountain is the lighthouse of Cape Miseno, located in a military zone interdicted to the public but visible from the outside. This very lighthouse is the protagonist of the final scene of the film "Scusa ma ti chiamo amore," where actors Raul Bova and Michela Quattrociocche lose themselves in an embrace: aerial shots manage to do justice to this magical place overlooking the sea. The tunnel to the lighthouse was also filmed for a Warner Bros. movie, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

Miseno, from Virgil to World War II

The story from which this locality takes its name is told by Virgil in the Aeneid and recalls the Miseno trumpeter and faithful companion of Aeneas. According to the myth, the same mountain identifying the coastline is associated with the tomb of Misenus, who went to certain death for defying the gods, particularly the god Triton, by boasting that he could play better than them. Aeneas therefore decided to dedicate a funeral to him and have a mound erected over his tomb: it is no coincidence that the shape of Cape Misenum resembles that of a mound because of its flat tip. On the promontory, it is also possible to encounter an anti-Saracen tower, called the Low Tower, as well as a series of fortifications dating back to World War II.

The Miseno of the ancient Romans

Until the end of the 3rd century B.C. Miseno was a fundamental landmark for the Cumaean fleet: due to its strategic location, it was the right landing place from which to control the Gulf of Naples, so much so that it played a decisive role in Cumae's victory over the Etruscans during a naval battle. After being a favorite port and location for Roman imperial and aristocratic residences, in 10 CE theEmperor Augustus chose it as the base for the Roman fleet in the Tyrrhenian Sea, hence named Classis Misenensis, which soon became the fleet under direct command of the emperor. Misenum was a military colony with its own administrative autonomy and a double-dock port created by connecting the coast and the port to the Maremorto Lake With a wooden bridge. As early as the end of the fourth century AD, with the fall of the Roman Empire and the multiplication and decentralization of military bases, the site's period of decline began, especially with the transfer of the fleet to Ravenna. With the invasion of the Saracens in 846 AD, Miseno and its small village were destroyed. As evidence of the military settlement, we have the letters in which Pliny the Younger recounts to Tacitus the death of his uncle Pliny the Elder, who was in direct command of the Misenum Military Class when he sailed on a liburna to the opposite Vesuvius coast in 79 AD during the eruption of Vesuvius to provide relief to the local people.