The 21st edition of the track event Corriamo nel mito (Running through the myth) called together 150 athletes who challenged themselves to go through a difficult and suggestive run – which passed near the Lucrine-Avernus lake front, naturalistic site not only of great interest, but also of archaeological and historical significance. This year’s competition, organised by Centro Sportivo Italiano, had as a sponsor Aeneas Route Association as well.
The two lakes, Lucrine and Avernus, housed the Roman Imperial fleet when Agrippa, Augustus’ right-hand man, built in a short span of time the port called Julius, product of great engineering. It was later replaced because of the silting up caused by bradyseismic phenomena, coming from the near Misenum harbour.
Today, we find pre-existing remains from ancient times along the run, such as the so-called Grotta di Cocceio (Cocceius’ Tunnel) and Temple of Apollo, remains of a majestic thermal spring from the Roman imperial period.
Aeneas Route Association collaborated with the track event, an appointment not to be missed among the sport events of the area. The association, in addition to its sponsorship, gave the athletes and those who didn’t participate the opportunity to do a walking tour of Lake Avernus, an outstanding area where the poet Virgil from Mantua set Aeneas’ descent into the Underworld and his meeting with his father Anchises. A lake that, thanks to its peculiarities (its volcanic origin, the fumes said to surround it in the past, a wild and luxuriant nature) was the scenery of myths and divine trials, even before Virgil: from Ulysses to Heracles, from the Cimmerians’ oracle to Calypso.
