Underground Car Park in the Ancient "Morelli" Cavern in Naples-Paper

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The Morelli underground car park reuses a historic cavern beneath Naples, part of the city’s extensive subterranean network formed through centuries of tuff quarrying, water-supply works, wartime shelter construction, and later abandonment. The cavern may once have been associated with Mithras worship and was connected to the Bourbon Tunnel in the 19th century.<br /><br />Construction began in 2004 in a strategically located area near central Naples. The detailed project provided 435 parking spaces—225 for public rotation and 210 for private use—although the abstract cites a capacity of 480. The facility consists of reinforced-concrete structures arranged in 14 seismically separated modules, with a new access tunnel and pedestrian connection.<br /><br />The cavern lies in Neapolitan yellow tuff, overlain by loose pyroclastic soils and fill. Investigations found generally sound, relatively unfractured rock, but its strength decreases when saturated and must be assessed at the scale of the rock mass as well as individual samples. Groundwater was observed at about 1.5 metres above sea level.<br /><br />Work required stabilizing the cavern walls and roof with anchors, CT-Bolts, lattice ribs, wire mesh, and shotcrete. Construction of the entrance tunnel encountered a debris-filled cavity, requiring grouting and a revised excavation method with forepoling and reinforcement pipes. The parking structure was built in stages so that early slabs could brace the tuff walls before excavation reached foundation level. This sequence, along with unforeseen cavities and the need for additional temporary supports, complicated and slowed construction.<br /><br />The project demonstrates how a historically significant and geotechnically challenging underground space can be adapted to address congestion and parking demand in a dense urban centre.

Keywords

Naples underground car park

Morelli parking facility

historic cavern reuse

Neapolitan yellow tuff

subterranean network

geotechnical stabilization

shotcrete reinforcement

Bourbon Tunnel

Mithras worship

urban parking demand