A Time Capsule Lies Under the City of Naples, Italy

By | December 16, 2016

Lost for decades beneath the streets of Naples, Italy, the Galleria Borbonica is a time capsule of the city's history. The system of tunnels and caverns, stretching from the Royal Palace of Naples to the military barracks, was originally created in the 1800s as an escape route for the city's royalty.

Fearful of revolution, King Ferdinand II designed an escape route that would lead royalty to safety via the Carmignano Aqueduct (which itself dates back to 1627). However, the king died before the project could be completed, and the tunnel was left abandoned for decades.

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In the 1930s, it was used as a storage facility for contraband vehicles and during World War II, it became a military hospital and bomb shelter. After the war, it was eventually sealed and forgotten until it was rediscovered in 2005 when government officials went to check the conditions of nearby quarries.

Currently the Bourbon Tunnel is open to the public, and acts as an historic time capsule of past life in Naples.

Credit: Great Big Story