Sorrento: Wine shop seized after illegally excavating a cave in the Roman cisterns of Spasiano

Sorrento – This morning, the Naples Metropolitan Police, USES group, carried out a precautionary seizure of a wine shop located on Viale Caruso in Sorrento. The operation is part of an investigation into illegal occupation of public land in the Municipality of Sorrento, delegated and coordinated by the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor's Office. The charges include invasion of land or buildings (Articles 633 and 639-bis of the Criminal Code), illegal construction on protected property, and construction work without a building permit.

What the officers found

The wine shop is spread over three levels: one on the ground floor, facing the street, and two underground levels. The inspection revealed that the first underground level had been subject to an unauthorized change of use, from a warehouse to a space for food preparation and tasting. From this same level, a staircase had been dug into the tuff rock to access the second underground level.

The second underground level consists of a cave with restrooms, furnished with built-in wine display cabinets. Lighting, ventilation, and dehumidification systems have been installed inside, along with additional openings in the tuff wall, concealed by display cabinets and a metal mesh.

The area is state-owned and protected

Investigations have confirmed that this latter building falls within a state-owned area subject to archaeological and cultural restrictions, as it is part of the larger site of the Roman cisterns of Spasiano, an extraordinary hydraulic work from the Roman era. This complex was built in the 1st century AD, during the Augustan era, to supply drinking water to the suburban villas along the coast of the Sorrento Peninsula.

The judge's decision: seizure of only the underground rooms

The Prosecutor's Office asked the preliminary investigations judge to validate the seizure of the wine shop's two underground rooms. However, the seizure of the ground-floor space facing the street was not requested, and its release was ordered, as it was not currently affected by any unauthorized construction.

The proceedings are in the preliminary investigation phase: the precautionary seizure must be validated by the investigating judge, can be appealed before the Court of Review, and, as the Prosecutor's Office itself points out, the suspect cannot be held guilty until a final conviction has been handed down, in accordance with the constitutional principle of the presumption of innocence.

The precedent of September 17

On September 17, 2026, as part of the same investigative activity, the Metropolitan Police had already executed a similar precautionary seizure on its own initiative, later validated by the investigating judge, for the crimes under Articles 633 and 639-bis of the Criminal Code. In that case, another municipal property, located on Corso Italia, near the entrance to the Spasiano cisterns area, was seized. The property had been improperly used as a storage and laundry facility for a B&B-type accommodation business beyond the expiration date of the temporary permit and for a use other than that permitted (hygienic-sanitary).

Investigations continue

Investigations are ongoing to determine any further unauthorized occupation of state-owned spaces of historical and cultural interest, unlawfully diverted over the years from their intended purpose. This raid is part of a broader investigation of unauthorized occupation of the Roman cisterns of Spasiano, conducted by the Metropolitan Police in execution of an inspection order issued by the Torre Annunziata Public Prosecutor's Office.