The investigation undertaken along the southern side of Piazza Bovio (called piazza della Borsa), in correspondence with the “Università” station, documented urban occupation of the area datable from the 5th to 16th-18th century A.D., prior to the latest reorganistaion of the area following the “Risanamento”. In the late antique phase, between the 5th and 8th century A.D., the zone was part of the suburban coastal strip (in fact the coastline coincided more or less with via dei Lanzieri and via Porto di Maio). Between the 9th and 11th century A.D., in the Ducal period, a segment of the new city fortifications was erected here. This was an imposing structure (preserved for a length of circa 20 m), discovered at foundation level, on an east-west alignment, whose presence for the 11th century had to date only been hypothesised on the basis of documents from the period. Subsequently a number of rooms were built up against the city wall, dating to between the 14th and 16th century. These were perhaps cellars belonging to the medieval quarter next to the smallest of the ports of Naples, “il Mandracchio”. Lastly, the fortifications were further reused as the substructure for via S. Maria a Mare, shown on the 19th century plans of the city.

Excavations continued in the area of the “Università” station demonstrating that the original layout of the block dated to at least the 12th century, with partial restorations and dividing elements dating from the Angevin and Aragonese periods. The evidence from this area, which can be related to the port of Mandracchio, finds confirmation in the medieval documents collected by Bartolomeo Capasso and is comparable to the plan he proposed for the 12th century. Amongst the rooms uncovered, datable to the 13th century, was a kitchen, in which an oven was well preserved, a porticoed structure open to the south towards the sea and a number of channels. Overlying this layout was the unitary 14th century intervention which reorganised the spaces and joined together the various constructions. Brick paving covering an open space within the block dated to this period, overlying a series of lime and pumice beaten floor surfaces. The last of these, situated at the lowest point reached by the excavation so far, dated to the Angevin period. Both the medieval and 16th century pottery contexts were of great interest. In particular, those datable to between the 11th and 12th century presented a high percentage of imported Islamic glazed ware, cannelures amphorae of Sicilian production, glazed ware and banded painted and glazed ware from the eastern Mediterranean (Byzantine production). The 16th century materials attested commercial exchanges with both central-northern Italy and Spain. In fact, there were frequent finds of polychrome majolica produced at Montelupo (Tuscany), Deruta (Umbria) and Castelli (Abruzzo), associated in some cases with lustre ware of Iberian provenance.

Following the exploration in previous years of the later levels, investigations recommenced by looking at the twenty-five wells and reservoirs present in the area. The filling of the wells dating to the Viceregal periodwhich occurred between the 16th century and the first half of the 17th century, was of particular importance., as well Beside the bronze coins which precisely dated the obliteration to the first decades of 1600 after the Great Plague, this produced a vast quantity of material including pottery, glass, metal and even wooden artefacts. The pottery series was outstanding: beside the locally produced pottery for daily use there was polychrome majolica imported from Montelupo, majolica from the Val d’Arno with so-called “alla porcellana” decoration, pottery with “berettino” enamel from Liguria, marbled and sgraffito wares from Pisa. The painted majolica polychrome jugs were outstanding and either preserved intact or reconstructable almost to their intact state. As regards the compendium majolica and the so-called “turchine”, the contacts with Castelli d’Abruzzo were clear, both in the imports, often attested by contemporary documents, and in those made in local workshops inspired by the Abruzzo types. Furthermore, worthy of note was a production of Renaissance sgraffito pottery, recently found on many sites in central-southern Italy – Abruzzo, Molise and Campania itself – further confirmation of the commercial traffic not only along the Tyrrhenian routes but also towards the internal circuits of the kingdom. The fills of a number of wells belonging to the earliest phases of the block produced 15th century pottery: lustre ware imported from Valencia, majolica with the Aragonese arms of the Duke of Calabria and majolica painted in blue and blue and orange; the latter showing clear parallels with coeval majolica paving in some of the Neapolitan churches, such as those of the Caracciolo chapel in the church of S. Giovanni a Carbonara.

The rooms situated in the southern part of the station dated to the beginning of the 12th century. They were built with medium to large yellow tufa blocks of pseudo polygonal and irregular rectangular form. The urban block developed, in the form still recognisable in the 19th century cadastral register, on top of the early building complex between the middle and the end of the 12th century. The block did not directly overlie the earliest structures, but levels of sandy silt which came to form a marsh. The evidence dating to this period was represented by a completely new construction which marked the beginning of the urbanisation of the area (beginning of the 7th century). It was situated outside the south-western stretch of the Greek fortifications and was constituted by a large rectangular building in squared yellow tufa blocks, divided into four rooms by the use of semi-pilasters. It had two staircases providing access to the upper floor, south of which was an entrance corridor, whilst to the west were another two rooms with trapezoidal plan. The simple typology of the rooms and their ample size suggests they were used as storage facilities related to the port area. The complex was enlarged and restored during the 8th century and destroyed between the end of the 9th and the 10th century. Prior to the 7th century the area was occupied only by temporary structures connected with glass and metal working. Geo-archaeological core sampling demonstrated that this area corresponded with part of an inlet which reached the northern side of the piazza, below the stock-exchange building. From the 1st century A.D. onwards the area suffered progressive silting which led to the advance of the coastline which in the 6th century was seen to have reached the area of the southern edge of the piazza. It was only in the medieval period that the cordons of dunes formed that were to generate the two harbours, the _Vulpulum_ at piazza Municipio and the Arcina in the area of the Molo piccolo.

The results from excavations and an extensive campaign of geo-archaeological survey made it possible to delineate the layout and functions of the coastal landscape, clarifying, at least in part, the question of the site and morphology of the port of Neapolis. Piazza Bovio together with piazza Municipio constituted sectors of a single large inlet delimited to the west by Castel Nuovo and to the east by the church of Santa Maria di Porto Salvo. The inlet covered at least the whole of piazza Municipio and at piazza Bovio formed a bight which represented the eastern edge of the basin. Both at piazza Municipio and piazza Bovio excavations confirmed that the entire investigated area of the stations was occupied by the sea. The ancient coastline ran, not too far off, on the inland side of the stations. At Piazza Municipio and at piazza Bovio no modifications to the coastal profile seemed to be documented between the Greek and Roman periods. At piazza Bovio the earliest sea beds that produced pottery finds dated to the 4th century B.C. To date the deepest levels reached by the excavation in piazza Municipio area those of the 3rd-2nd century B.C. These were ditches circa 1.80-1.90m wide, often intersecting, of which the sides were identifiable both on the upper levels of the natural substratum and on the sands themselves. It was also possible to observe the narrow impressed grooves left by the tools used for the dredging operations. Of note the discovery on the sea bed of part of a cargo of hemispherical black glaze cups, dating to the mid 3rd century B.C., made of clay that can certainly came from the bay of Naples.