Puteoli (Pozzuoli), Italy
“And after one day a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome.” Acts 28: 13 - 14
In approximately AD 59 Paul, Luke and Aristarchus, in the company of Paul’s Roman guards and other prisoners, landed at Puteoli Italy. From this port city, they continued on to Rome over land, likely following the Via Appia. At this time, Puteoli was a major port city and the main port for large ships bringing goods to Rome. It would be a few more years before Ostia Antica increased in importance, and it never was a suitable port for large ships such as the Alexandrian ship Paul sailed in on.
Visiting Puteoli today, there are visible remains of the once great harbor. A long stretch of the original mole was built on top of and is still the mole today. The macellum, or market, has been excavated and dates to Paul’s time. There are two amphitheaters in Puteoli very near the port. The Flavian amphitheater was built during the Emperor Vespasian’s reign, 10 - 15 years after the time of Paul’s seven day stay in Puteoli. The older Republican amphitheater dates to the time of Nero and could have been under construction at the time of Paul.
On the harbor is the Church of Santa Maria Delle Grazie. On the exterior wall of the church there is a plaque dedicated to Paul’s stop in Puteoli and a plaque dedicated to a visit by Pope John Paul II. In between is a mosaic illustrating Paul’s arrival on the pier. In 2000, a bronze plaque on a stone memorial quoting Paul’s landing from Acts was placed outside the church.
We did not get to see the Cathedral of Pozzuoli (Basilica o San Procolo Martyr). The cathedral is near the harbor and built on the site of a Roman temple (27 or 28 BC - AD 12 depending on sources). Some of the original temple structure is still standing. On the wish list if we ever get back there!
Port of Puteoli (Pozzuoli) Italy
