entry Dec 2013, add: Oct
2015, edit 2023
The Bay of Jeranto
From the
Bay of Jeranto, shot to the south, across the straits
of Capri, with the Faraglioni Rocks of Capri in the distance.
of Capri, with the Faraglioni Rocks of Capri in the distance.
photo:
Thomas Möllmann
The
Bay of Jeranto (also Ieranto) Nature
Preserve (photo, right) is one of the most remarkable
bits of natural beauty in the Campania region of Italy.
The bay is part of the Protected Marine Reserve of Punta
Campanella and is in the comune (municipality)
of Massa Lubrense at the end of the Sorrentine
peninsula. (Massa Lubrense is also the name of the main
town in the comune; the town is called 'Massa,'
for short.) The comune of Massa Lubrnese
occupies the entire tip of the peninsula, thus being
bounded on the sea by two gulfs (Naples and Salerno) and
on land only by the comune of Sorrento as one
moves back along the peninsula towards Naples. The bay
of Jeranto is actually in the Gulf of Salerno and not
Naples since it is just to the east of and past the tip
of the peninsula, Cape Campanella, the geographical
feature that divides the two gulfs. The bay opens to the
southwest with a line of sight past the cape to the
Faraglioni rocks off the isle of Capri 5 km (3 miles)
across the straits. Forty-nine hectares (120 acres) of
the land on the bay, is now owned by the Fondo
Ambiente Italiano (Italian Environmental Fund). The bay is part of the
village of Nerano, one of 14 small
centers within the comune (municipality)
of Massa Lubrense. In this image, the Bay of Jeranto is the mouth of the strange
creature (alias the Sorrentine peninsula) about to devour the
isle of Capri. Sorrento is the mass of buildings just behind the
ears (or maybe they're antennae). North is at the top of this
image; everything in front of the ears, from bay to bay, is in the
comune of Massa Lubrense.
This is the area of the sirens of Greek
mythology; classical sources speak of the
Greek temple to Athena and, later, of the Roman
temple to Minerva built on the same site. In general, bits and pieces of ancient
Rome abound in the area; also, inscriptions in the
Oscan language (the language of the Samnites, grand enemies
of the Romans) were discovered in 1985. As well,
there are some Saracen
Towers built during the period of the Spanish vice-realm
(1516-1707). Rural architecture includes the old
“colonial houses” (that is, the main buildings on
property worked by tenant farmers but owned by
absentee landlords); they are now environmentally
protected buildings.The area was opened up at the beginning of the 1900s through mining operations, using the services of miners imported from Sardinia. The Ieranto Quarry was owned and operated by the Ilva steel corporation beginning in 1918, was restructured in 1925 and ceased operations after WWII in 1952. The company donated the property to the Italian National Trust for the Environment (FIA) in 1986. The relics of the mining operations are still evident and are now part of displays of "industrial archaeology." The work, like all mining, was notoriously difficult and dangerous. Part of the industrial display is a plaque bearing the names of miners who perished. (It is perhaps strange to mention natural beauty and mining in the same sentence, I know, but this was a mine and not a steel mill such as the one, from the same period, in the Naples suburb of Bagnoli, still struggling to recover from the urban blight left in the wake of the mill, now closed.)
The general terrain around the Bay of Jeranto is one of terraced olive groves; the natural flora is typically Mediterranean “macchia”) (or Maquis shrubland), typical of much of the coast. The area is a major route of migratory birds, and more than 100 species have been counted, including those native to the area. Oceanographically, Jeranto bay is at the confluence of waters from the bay of Naples and the bay of Salerno to the south; upwelling in the waters is an important part of the circulation and exchange of waters in the straits between the peninsula and the island of Capri and is vital to replenishing nutrients for the aquatic plant and animal life.
The bay is accessible from above, at the village of Nerano. It is best seen, perhaps, from the sea, where you can view geological features such as the caves and grottoes along the rock face at sea level, not visible from the land. The area of the bay of Jeranto has been home to writers, artists and kings. It inspires poetry, as in these lines from my neighbor and friend, Giacomo Garzya, whose forthcoming collection of verses, Campania Felix, will appear in the near future in the original Italian, accompanied by my English translations.
|
From Jeranto
Every evening the olive trees, aged by centuries, and the sunset over Capri--enchanted eyes behold and are stunned, for even if the palette is the same, the colors always change, like the clear sky and the clouds. What endless shapes they form! The olives wait in nets for mules, then leave this magic place where they came of age; The oil-press awaits them, they shall give from Jeranto the essence of the sun that glows and sets beyond the Faraglioni; The ancient wounds of Creation are healed; The everlasting return of the living and the dead. |
note:
Other poetry by Garzya here , here and here.
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of this pageAlso, delightful little events such as this unexpected gift happen all the time in Jeranto Bay.
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