The 2nd edition of F.I.R.E., the International Festival of the Aeneas Route, will be hosted in the Phlegraean Fields next September 1-5, 2022.
The Festival, organised by the Associazione Rotta di Enea (Aeneas’ Route Association) with the support of the Parco Archeologico dei Campi Flegrei, and in collaboration with regional and local authorities, Università Vanvitelli, the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio per l’Area Metropolitana di Napoli and Slow Food Italia, is taking place in the evocative setting of ancient Cuma, the first Greek colony of the West, and the Archaeological Museum of the Phlegrean Fields, in the Castello Aragonese of Baia.
The Festival promotes the archaeological sites of the Virgilian narrative, and is part of the “Antro” initiative, launched by Fabio Pagano, director of the Archaeological Park, and of the broader framework of activities promoted by Procida, this year’s Italian Capital of Culture.
Every year F.I.R.E. dedicates a session to one of the nations on the Itinerary circuit: in 2021 Greece was featured, while this year it will be Albania’s turn.
On September 2, in the presence of the Albanian Ambassador H.E. Anila Bitri Lani, experts in Albanian literature and archaeologists will showcase the most recent discoveries of the Italian mission in Albania. A concert of Arbareshe music and a tasting offered by Slow Food will follow in the afternoon.
September 3 will feature the sea and the lakes, with the participation of the archaeologists who have conducted both field and underwater researches in the area of Lake Avernus and the Phlegrean coast between Pozzuoli and Lucrino, which hosted the Portus Julius, built by Agrippa at the behest of Augustus.
Lake Avernus, the seat of the underworld in the ancient world, is the place where Virgil sets the 6th book of his poem, with the descent of Aeneas and the Sibyl into Hades, an area celebrated by many classical sources, rich in archaeological pre-existences, but which had not been systematically researched.
In addition, the well-known phenomenon of the bradyseism of the Phlegraean Fields has led to the slow sinking of a vast coastal strip that includes the ancient Baia, a largely submerged city, and the long-awaited expert studies will shed light on a marine area of great scientific interest.
The Festival will also feature two theatrical performances: ‘Love, weapons: Aeneas, modern hero’ by the Q-Academy Association and ‘Aeneid’ by the Veliateatro Association, set in the evocative archaeological park of Cumae.
The event will close with the screening of the docufilm “La macchina delle immagini di Alfredo C.” (Alfredo C.’s image machine). Director Roland Sejko, who recently won the “Nastro d’argento Award” as best documentary of the year, will attend the event.
Maria Teresa Moccia Di Fraia