This article first come out in Issue 1 of our free digital magazineCURIOUS .
In Naples , Italy , visitor to the ruins of Baiae which pose within the modern urban center of Bacoli will chance a botanic take onStranger thing ’ The Upside Down . Here , from the cap of a cave in the Parco Archeologico delle Terme di Baia , a common fig tree tree diagram has grown the wrong direction up . Exactly how the gravity - defying tree came to be there has plant scientist stump , but its unconvincing locating does n’t seem to be slowing it down as it continues to grow ( albeit , downwardly ) and pay fruit .
In its heyday , the ancient Roman city of Baiae was a lively and stylish resort for the ruling class . Now partially submersed , the immense undersea archaeological parking area isdescribed by archaeologistsas having once been the Monte Carlo of the ancient Roman earned run average where emperors such as Augustus , Caesar and Nero had home .
The upside-down fig tree can be viewed by visitors to the Parco Archeologico delle Terme di Baia. Image credit: Lucamato/Shutterstock.com
A hive of activity , Baiae was also – to its detriment – actively volcanic . Over several centuries , undulations of the Earth ’s crustin the realm triggered hydrothermal and seismic activity which saw much of the metropolis slue beneath the shoreline .
It was not to be lose , however , thanks to a pilot who noticed that something unusual was going on beneath the waves just off the coast of Naples backin the 1940s . Though photos take by the pilot appeared to show social structure in the sea , it would be two decades before researchers voyage in submarines to get a closer look at what was going on .
While our noted upside - down fig tree can be viewed among the above - ground Roman destroy at the Parco Archeologico delle Terme di Baia , visitors can expect into the deep-set urban center , too , with glass - bottom boat tours which trend above the ancient archeological remains .
How to get there
Naples International Airport is the closest to the ancient Romanist era archaeological clay . Once in Bacoli , the upside - down Libyan Islamic Fighting Group tree diagram can be found opposite the Temple of Mercury in the Parco Archeologico delle Terme di Baia .
