Located on the southwestern coast of Italy and settled in the 8th century BC, Cumae was the first Greek colony on the Italian mainland. It is best known for being the seat of the Cumaean sibyl, or prophetess. In the Aeneid, Aeneas went to see the sibyl before he entered the underworld; a passage to hell is located nearby. Cumae has been the site of much bloodshed. In the 1st century, several brutal battles in the Gothic Wars took place there, and during World War II, German soldiers used a part of it as a bunker and gun emplacement. Modern-day visitors can traverse the dark, womb-like tunnels and try their luck at consulting the sibyl for guidance.
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