Baia Castle, Bacoli, Italy - SpottingHistory.com

The late 15th century Baia Castle was built by the over ancient Roman ruins thought to be the summer residence of Julius Caesar. On the 29th September 1538 the great eruption, with devastating effects for all the Phlegraean Fieldsi, caused serious damage to the Castle of Baia too. The castle was restored and enlarged by the viceroy don Pedro Alvarez de Toledo.

Today, this cliffside Aragonese castle with sea views is home to the Archaeological Museum of Campi Flegrei.

User Reviews

Chrissy M (8 months ago)
Beautiful views! The castle is in perfect condition and has very informative exhibits inside. A great wait to spend two hours.

migchel migchelsen (10 months ago)
Well-planned archeological museum, with nearly all exhibits explained in english. Well worth the effort !

Richard Lay (14 months ago)
Car park lovely ... very good picture/map of area and attractions but Castle closed at 13.00hrs! Doh!

Adam Iardino (16 months ago)
Great place to go if you don't want to be around a lot major tourism. Awesome views and the museum is nice with a lot of artifacts from ancient Rome.

Amber (17 months ago)
A cool place to visit off the beaten path. Usually, I'm among the few visitors here. They have artifacts from the underwater archeology park, and the castle is neat

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

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Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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