In the ancient acropolis of Cumae, located in Campania, Italy, crowned by the remains of the temple with the Triad Capitoline (formed by Jupiter, Juno and Minerva), there is a large artificial cave by which one can penetrate in the very "den" of the Sibyl of Cumae. It is a gallery of over 130 meters of length dug into the volcanic rock, leading to a large vaulted room. There dwelt the "caste", the "frantic", the "terrifying", the "prophetess" Sibyl, as the successively called Virgil in the Aeneid.

Cumae, the oldest Greek colony in Italy, knew a period of splendor back in the 6th-5th century BC and it was then that the activity and fame of this divination shrine, similar to those existing in Greece, like the powerful of Delphi, began. It was an important pilgrimage center still at the beginning of that era.

Den della Sibilla

ORIGINS