.JPG) View of Gaiola Island | |
  Gaiola | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Tyrrhenian Sea |
| Coordinates | 40°47′30″N14°11′13″E / 40.791635°N 14.187054°E /40.791635; 14.187054 |
| Adjacent to | Gulf of Naples |
| Administration | |
Italy | |
| Region | Campania |
| Metropolitan City | Metropolitan City of Naples (formerProvince of Naples) |
| Largest settlement | Naples |
Gaiola Island is one of the minor islands ofNaples, off the city'sPosillipo residential quarter, in theMetropolitan City of Naples andCampania region, southwestern Italy. It is located within the "Parco sommerso di Gaiola".
It is located offshore in theGulf of Naples, and a part of the volcanicCampanian Archipelago of theTyrrhenian Sea.
The island is at the center of theParco Sommerso di Gaiola or 'Underwater Park of Gaiola,' a protectedmarine reserve.[1]
The island takes its name from the cavities that dot the coast ofPosillipo. The Latincaveola ("little cave") passed through the region's dialect to becomeCaviola. Originally, the small island was known asEuplea, protector of safe navigation, and was the site of a small temple.[2]
The island is very close to the coast, reachable with a few strokes of swimming. It is assumed that originally it was nothing more than an extension of the promontory opposite and was artificially separated only at a later time at the behest ofLucullus.
In the 17th century the island was virtually littered with Roman factories, while, two centuries later, the island served as a battery in defense of theGulf of Naples.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the island was inhabited by ahermit, nicknamed "The Wizard",[3] who lived thanks to the almsgiving of fishermen. Soon after, the island saw the construction of the villa that occupies it today and which was owned by the maritime engineer, Nelson Foley, brother-in-law to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Foley also owned the Villa Bechi on the mainland opposite Isola di Gaiola. From 1896-1903 the owner of the Villa Bechi was Norman Douglas, author ofLand of the Siren, but he sold it back to Foley. The latter built a single-person cable chair that connected the island to the mainland.[citation needed]
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Naples's legend has considered Gaiola a "cursed island", which with its beauty hides a "restless fate" , the "Gaiola Malediction."[4] The reputation developed from the frequent misfortunes and premature deaths in the families of its 20th century owners. For example, in the 1920s, it belonged to the Swiss Hans Braun, who was found dead and wrapped in a rug. A little later, his wife drowned in the sea. The next owner was the German Otto Grunback, who died of a heart attack while staying in the island's villa. A following owner, theSandoz pharmaceutical industrialist heirMaurice-Yves Sandoz, committed suicide in a mental hospital inSwitzerland.
The island has also since belonged to:Gianni Agnelli, the Turinese owner ofFiat Automobiles, who suffered the deaths of many relatives; and toJ. Paul Getty, who experienced from afar the suicide of his oldest son, death of his youngest son, and kidnapping of a grandson, before his own death.
The last private owner of the island was Gianpasquale Grappone, who was jailed.[5] Newspapers talked again about the "Gaiola Malediction" in 2009, after the murder of Franco Ambrosio and his wife Giovanna Sacco, who owned a villa opposite the island.[6][7][8][9]
The island is now the property of the government of theCampania region, and a protected area within it. It includes theParco Sommerso di Gaiola (Underwater Park of Gaiola)marine reserve in theGulf of Naples.The regional government gave it in management to Soprintendenza Archeologica. This public authority gave birth to a Study Centre in association with theNGOCentro Studi Interdisciplinari Gaiola[1][10]
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