The beauty of the promontory overlooking the Phlegraean Coast had already attracted the attention of Gaius Marius, who built a villa there. It later became the property of the famous Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, and finally became the property of General Lucius Licinius Lucullus, owner of another large residence in nearby Naples.

The Phlegraean Villa, which, thanks to a system of terraces, extended on various levels from the summit of Cape Miseno to the sea, was no less impressive in size and magnificence. It was often the site of memorable parties and the famous "Lucullian" banquets, attended by the most prominent figures of the day. Complementing the living quarters were various rooms dug into the promontory's tuff and clad in cocciopesto: a nymphaeum, a thermal complex, and several fishponds.
Not far from the villa, also carved into the tuff on the eastern flank of the promontory and accessible from the beach at Miseno, is a large Roman cistern, the Grotta della Dragonara. Visually striking due to the dramatic presence of four rows of tuff columns, lined in opus reticulatum, supporting the barrel vault with openings containing the remains of stairs. The space is sixty meters long and six meters wide and is divided into five naves from which a vast and intricate network of tunnels branches off. The reservoir, which collected rainwater and water from a local spring, was used primarily for the benefit of the villa and other nearby structures, and only partially for the fleet's water needs, which were almost entirely met by the terminal of the Serino aqueduct in the enormous Piscina Mirabilis.
Just as it was for sailors in ancient times, Cape Miseno remains a landmark today with its soaring white lighthouse, built in the second half of the 19th century on the ruins of a 16th-century watchtower. Destroyed during World War II, it was rebuilt in 1948 to guard the channel separating the mainland from the Phlegraean Islands. It can be reached via a path immersed in nature, at the end of which a spectacular view of the entire Gulf of Naples is offered.