Macellum of Naples, Ancient Roman market beneath San Lorenzo Maggiore church in Naples, Italy.
The Macellum of Naples is a Roman market structure beneath San Lorenzo Maggiore church featuring rows of stone shop spaces arranged around a central courtyard. Original mosaic floors and the preserved layout of trading areas still visible today document how this commercial center functioned.
The site started as a Greek agora in the 5th century BC and was transformed into a Roman macellum during the 2nd century AD. This conversion reflects the cultural shift as Rome gained control of the region.
The market layout reveals how Romans organized commerce with separate zones for different types of goods and services. Walking through these halls, you sense how daily trading and business operated in this ancient port city.
Access is through the church above, where stairs lead down into the underground rooms. The passages are narrow and sometimes dimly lit, so sturdy shoes and a flashlight are helpful for exploring.
A mudslide in the 5th century buried these structures and preserved them like a time capsule. This protection kept the rooms intact until archaeologists rediscovered them centuries later.
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