[ ^7 ] 
the cones of both thefe fuppofed volcanos are com- 
pofed of tufa and ftrata of loofe pumice, fragments 
of lava and other burnt matter, exa 6 lly refembling 
the flrata of Vefuvius. Bartholomeus Fatius, who 
wrote of theadlions of king Alphonfo the firft (before 
the new mountain had been formed near Puzzole), 
conjectured that Aftruni had been a volcano. Thefe 
are his words : Locus Neapcli qilatuor millia pafuum 
proximiiSy quern vulgo Liftrones vocafit, nos iinum e 
Phlegreeis Campis ab ardore nuncupandutn putamus. 
There is no entrance into the crater of either Aftruni 
or Agnano, except one, evidently made by art, and 
they both exadlly correfpond with Strabo’s defcn'ption 
of avenues; the fame may be faid of the Solfaterra 
and the Monte Gauro, or Barbaro as it is fometimes 
called, which I fhall defcribe prefently. 
Near Aftruni and towards the fea rifes the Solfa- 
terra, which not only retains its cone and crater, 
but much of its former heat. In the plain within 
the crater, fmoke ilfues from many parts, as alfo from 
its lides ; here, by means of ftones and tiles heaped 
over the crevices, through which the fmoak palfes, 
they collect in an aukward manner what they call 
fate armo?iiaco'y and from the fand of the plain they 
extract fulphur and alum. This fpot well attended 
to might certainly produce a good revenue, whereas 
I doubt if they have hitherto ever cleared 200 /. a year 
by it. The hollow found produced by throwing a 
heavy ftone on the plain of the crater of the Solfa- 
terra feems -to indicate, that it is fupported by a fort 
of arched natural vault ; and one is induced to think 
that there is a pool of water beneath this vault (which 
boils by the heat of a fubterraneous fire flill deeper) 
VoL. LXI. D by 
