Every design for Quarto

Quarto lies in the Campi Flegrei, inland from Pozzuoli and north-west of Naples, on a flat oval plain ringed by low hills and bordered by Giugliano in Campania, Marano di Napoli and Villaricca. Its name is a milestone: ad quartum, the fourth Roman mile along the Via Campana, the road that ran from the Anfiteatro Flavio at Pozzuoli towards Capua, and the town's coat of arms still records it.

What makes it unique is that the whole town sits inside a crater. The Piana di Quarto is the largest extinct crater of the Campi Flegrei, born of violent volcanic activity. At Punta Marmolite a dome of lava survives from a small eruption, and on the western side yellow tuff was quarried for building stone.

Anyone who grew up here knows the Montagna Spaccata, the Pietra Bianca and the Villa Comunale Papa Giovanni Paolo Secondo; the map traces the rim of the bowl they called home.