The EAV Cumana line departs from Napoli Montesanto every 20 minutes and reaches Pozzuoli in 20 minutes for €1.30. It's the access route to the Phlegraean Fields — one of the most geologically and archaeologically extraordinary areas in Italy, and almost entirely tourist-free.
Plan my Italy trip →The EAV Cumana is one of the most overlooked transport routes in southern Italy. It departs from Napoli Montesanto station (near the Spanish Quarter) every 20 minutes and runs westward along the northern edge of the Phlegraean Fields volcanic zone to Torregaveta on the coast — a 27km route through terrain that contains some of the most geologically active land on Earth, multiple Roman archaeological sites, and almost no international tourists. The ticket costs €1.30. Most visitors to Naples never hear about it.
The Cumana is one of three EAV (Ente Autonomo Volturno) railways serving the greater Naples area — the others being the Circumflegrea (also from Montesanto, slightly different route westward) and the Circumvesuviana (from Porta Nolana, eastward to Pompeii and Sorrento). The Cumana runs from Napoli Montesanto westward through Pozzuoli, Arco Felice, Lucrino, Baia, Fusaro, and Torregaveta. Key stops for visitors: Pozzuoli (20 min, €1.30) for the Solfatara crater, the Roman Macellum, and the ancient harbor; Lucrino (30 min) for Lake Lucrino and access to the ancient Baiae thermal complex; Baia (35 min) for the Castello di Baia and the Museo Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei; Fusaro (40 min) for Lake Fusaro and the 18th-century Bourbon hunting lodge.
The Solfatara is an active volcanic crater 3km west of Pozzuoli's city center — the most accessible and dramatic expression of the Campi Flegrei volcanic system. Fumaroles emit sulfurous steam at 160°C, mud pools bubble at the surface, and the ground sounds hollow when you stamp on it (the crust above the volcanic activity is thin). It's one of Europe's most viscerally geological experiences and costs €8 to enter. From Naples: Cumana from Montesanto to Pozzuoli (20 min, €1.30), then either a 30-minute walk uphill or a taxi (€8-10). The Solfatara was damaged by a 2017 accident (a tourist fell through the crust — one fatality) and has been operating with restricted access since; check current opening status at solfatara.it before visiting. Even with access limitations, the experience of standing on an active volcano in an urban area is completely unlike anything else accessible from Naples.
The Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields — from the Greek phlegein, "to burn") were one of the most important areas of the ancient Mediterranean. Cumae, accessible from Pozzuoli, was the first Greek colony on the Italian mainland (founded 8th century BC) and home to the Cumaean Sibyl — the prophetess whose cave Virgil describes in the Aeneid, carved into the volcanic rock above the sea. The Oracle at Cumae was consulted before major Roman military campaigns. Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli) was the most important port in Italy before Ostia — the grains of Egypt, the spices of the East, and the marble from Greece all came through this harbor before reaching Rome. The Macellum at Pozzuoli (the "Temple of Serapis" — actually a commercial market building, not a temple) shows the water line on its columns: the ground has risen and fallen by meters over the centuries due to bradyseism (slow volcanic uplift), and the columns' worm holes show the exact level the sea reached when the building was submerged in the medieval period. The Roman resort town of Baiae on the coast was the Beverly Hills of the Empire — emperors including Caesar, Augustus, Nero, and Hadrian had villas there. The entire resort complex is now partially submerged due to bradyseism and is accessible by boat as an underwater archaeological park.
Bradyseism is the slow vertical movement of ground above a magmatic system — the ground rises when magmatic pressure increases and falls when it releases. Pozzuoli has been experiencing bradyseism for 2,000 years. In the 1980s, a bradyseismic crisis raised the ground by nearly 2 metres in 18 months and forced the partial evacuation of Pozzuoli's historic center. In recent years (2023-2024), new bradyseismic events have occurred with significant earthquakes felt across Naples. The Macellum's columns, standing in Pozzuoli harbor, show the water marks from the medieval period when the building was submerged — direct physical evidence of the ground having moved several metres downward and then back up. This is not historical abstraction: the volcano that destroyed Pompeii is also active under the Phlegraean Fields, and Italian volcanologists monitor the entire Campi Flegrei system continuously.
The Parco Sommerso di Baiae (Underwater Archaeological Park of Baiae) is one of the most unusual experiences available from Naples. The ancient Roman resort buildings are submerged 3-8 metres underwater in the Bay of Pozzuoli due to bradyseism, and can be visited by glass-bottom boat tour (year-round, from Pozzuoli port, approximately €15 — you see the ruins without entering the water), or by guided snorkeling/scuba tour (seasonal, run by SCUBAPOZZUOLI and other operators, €30-60 depending on depth and duration). The ruins include mosaic floors, marble sculptures (replicas — the originals are in the Castello di Baia museum), and building foundations still intact underwater. Take the Cumana to Baia station, walk to the port, and ask at the ticket offices for the current boat schedule.
Both the Cumana and the Circumflegrea depart from Napoli Montesanto station on different platforms, run westward through the Phlegraean Fields, and use the same EAV tickets. The key difference: the Cumana runs along the coastal route through Pozzuoli and reaches Torregaveta; the Circumflegrea runs on a more inland route through Pianura, Quarto, and Licola, also terminating at Torregaveta. For most tourist purposes, the Cumana is more useful (Pozzuoli stop is closer to the main attractions). Both lines operate on the same €1.30 single ticket or can be included in Unico Campania passes. The Circumflegrea serves primarily residential communities and has fewer tourist-relevant stops than the Cumana.
EAV (Ente Autonomo Volturno) tickets for the Cumana are separate from the ANM tickets used on the Naples metro, funiculars, and city buses — though Unico Campania integrated tickets cover all of them. For a single Cumana journey: €1.30 at any EAV ticket machine at Montesanto station or at the destination station. Unico Campania Napoli 24-hour pass (€4.50): covers metro, buses, funiculars, Cumana, Circumflegrea, and Circumvesuviana within the Naples metropolitan area — excellent value for any day you're making multiple journeys across different networks. The Campania ArteCard (€32 for 3 days) also includes transport plus reduced entry to major archaeological sites including the Campi Flegrei sites — worth calculating based on your planned visits.
The Castello di Baia (Aragonese castle above Baia town) houses the Museo Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei, which contains some of the best-preserved Roman marble sculpture outside the Naples Archaeological Museum — including the original statues retrieved from the underwater Baiae site and the portraits of Augustus and the imperial family from the nymphaeum of Claudius. Lucrino and Averno: Lake Lucrino (a coastal lagoon used by the Romans as a fish farm and oyster pool) and Lake Avernus (the volcanic crater lake that Virgil described as the entrance to the Underworld in the Aeneid — the ancient name means "without birds," because the volcanic gases killed them). Cumae: the Cumaean acropolis with the Sibyl's cave (carved through volcanic tufa in the 4th century BC) and the Temple of Apollo — accessible by regional bus from Torregaveta or by car.
The museum inside the Aragonese castle at Baia is one of the most undervisited archaeological museums in Italy. It contains: plaster casts of the statues recovered from the underwater Baiae site (the originals are too fragile for the sea air — the casts are displayed with extraordinary context about the sunken town); the Sacello degli Augustali from Miseno (a decorated room with frescoes and the most complete set of imperial portraits found at any single site — Augustus, Tiberius, and other members of the Julio-Claudian family stare out from marble portraits that were made within their lifetimes); and extensive material from the Phlegraean Fields covering Bronze Age through Roman occupation. Entry €4. From the castle terraces, the view of the bay and the underwater Baiae site is one of the best panoramas in the region.
The Cumana runs approximately every 20 minutes during peak hours and every 30 minutes in off-peak periods, from approximately 5:30am to approximately 10:30pm Monday through Saturday. Sunday service is reduced — roughly every 30-40 minutes. Last trains from Torregaveta back to Montesanto: approximately 10:15pm on weekdays. EAV (the operator) publishes current timetables at eavsrl.it — always check before a day trip, as schedules adjust seasonally. For Pozzuoli visits specifically, the frequency means that missing a train by minutes results in a 20-minute wait at most — not catastrophic. The stations are generally well-maintained and have current timetables posted on the platform.
The Campi Flegrei has been at elevated alert levels (giallo — yellow, elevated monitoring) since 2012, and has had periods of increased seismic activity and ground deformation in recent years. As of 2026, the area remains open to visitors and is monitored continuously by Italy's INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology). The alert system has four levels: verde (green, base), giallo (yellow, elevated attention), arancione (orange, volcanic unrest), rosso (red, eruption likely). At yellow level, normal visitor activity is not restricted. The Solfatara crater has its own specific access management based on ground stability — always check solfatara.it for current status. The broader region (Pozzuoli, Baia, Lake Averno) remains fully accessible and normal life continues for 360,000 residents of the Phlegraean Fields area.
Book any time-limited entry in advance. Whether it's the Vatican Museums (tickets.museivaticani.va), the Sistine Chapel early access, the Last Supper in Milan, the Borghese Gallery in Rome, or the Via dell'Amore traghetto boat at peak hours — the Italian sites that are worth visiting most are also the ones that become intolerable when overcrowded. The difference between a booked visit and an unbooked one at the Vatican Museums in July is not 30 minutes of queue — it's 2.5 hours of queue in direct sun, followed by the same overcrowded rooms. Book everything timed and in advance. Italy rewards preparation more than almost any other country in Europe.
The most efficient day sequence: take the 9am Cumana from Montesanto to Pozzuoli (20 min). Spend 90 minutes in Pozzuoli: the Macellum (Serapeum) on the harbor front — free to view from outside, €5 to enter — is the most direct evidence of bradyseism visible anywhere in the world. The Roman amphitheatre of Pozzuoli (third largest in Italy after the Colosseum and Capua) is a 15-minute walk from the station. From Pozzuoli, bus or taxi to the Solfatara crater (30 min uphill walk or 10 min taxi, €8-10). After Solfatara (1-2 hours), take the Cumana two stops west to Lucrino, walk 10 minutes to Lake Averno (the ancient entrance to the Underworld, now a tranquil volcanic crater lake surrounded by vineyards), then continue one more stop to Baia. Visit the Castello di Baia museum (1.5h). Return by Cumana to Napoli Montesanto by 6pm. Total cost excluding museum entries: €2.60 in Cumana tickets.
Yes — several Naples-based tour operators offer half-day and full-day Campi Flegrei tours combining transport (usually minibus rather than the Cumana), Solfatara, Pozzuoli, and Baia. Prices typically run €35-60 per person including transport and entrance fees. The advantage over the DIY Cumana approach is efficiency (no waiting at stations, pre-booked entries) and context (a good guide explains the bradyseism, the Roman history, and the ongoing volcanic monitoring in ways that transform the experience). The Naples Guided Tours and City Sightseeing Naples day tour programs include the Campi Flegrei as an option. However, the DIY Cumana approach is significantly cheaper, more flexible in timing, and allows spontaneous exploration — particularly worthwhile if you have a full day and an interest in local transport as part of the experience.
Yes — both depart from stations near Piazza Garibaldi (Circumvesuviana from Porta Nolana) and Piazza Montesanto (Cumana from Montesanto). A very ambitious day could theoretically do Herculaneum in the morning (Circumvesuviana, 20 min from Porta Nolana) and Pozzuoli in the afternoon (Cumana, 20 min from Montesanto) — but this is a long day that doesn't do justice to either site. The better approach: dedicate one day to the Circumvesuviana zone (Pompeii or Herculaneum) and another to the Cumana zone (Campi Flegrei). Both are accessible by Unico Campania 3-zone passes if you want integrated ticketing across both EAV networks.
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