This
topographical map gives you a good idea of how the Gulf
of Naples is laid out. North to south runs from the city
of Naples on a line to the Isle of Capri
in the lower right of the map. The Gulf of Naples is
contained within a line running from Cape Miseno (in the
center of the map across from the small island of
Procida) to Point Campanella (across from Capri).
The Gulf, itself, is divided into the Bay of Pozzuoli
and the Bay of Naples, separated by the Posillipo
peninsula. The Bay of Pozzuoli was the important Roman
military port for the Western
Imperial Fleet. The original Greek settlement in
the area, Pithecusa, was
actually on the large island of Ischia (at the bottom of
the map). Well before the city of Parthenope—and,
then, Naples—was founded, the Greeks moved from Ischia
across to the mainland at Cuma.
The entire area visible on the map, plus some area
further up the coast to the left towards Gaeta,
constituted what was known as the Independent Duchy of
Naples in the ninth and tenth centuries. Much of the
area, however, in the mountainous Sorrentine Peninsula
was disputed with other duchies of that period, namely,
the Duchy of Benevento and the Duchy
of Salerno.
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