Overview
Excavated in the tuffaceous rock overlooking the Misenum beach, the Roman cistern known as the Dragonara has a quadrangular layout and is divided into five naves by three rows of twelve imposing pillars carved out of tufa, with masonry in opus reticulatum and cocciopesto cladding. It was originally accessible from above thanks to three large openings in the barrel vault. As a result of recent excavations, a basin was found, lined with hydraulic cocciopesto, which was accessible by steps, with an inclined plane leading to an opening communicating with an underlying cistern. According to some scholars, the cistern was created to supply water to the ships of the Misenate fleet, but a connection to the rooms of a villa located further south cannot be ruled out, which literary sources claim belonged to Lucullus, who died at the time of Tiberius. It was later incorporated into the imperial property.
