Description of the attraction
Torre del Greco is a large city in the province of Naples in the Italian region of Campania with a population of about 88 thousand people. Interestingly, the inhabitants of the city are sometimes called "corallini" because of the huge amount of coral in the coastal waters. Torre del Greco himself has been a major manufacturer of coral jewelry and cameo brooches since the 17th century.
Historians suggest that during the time of Ancient Rome, Torre del Greco was a suburb of Herculaneum, which can be indirectly confirmed by the fragments of aristocratic villas found here. After the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius in 79, when many settlements in the area were destroyed, two villages were founded on the site of Torre - Sora and Kalastro. In 535, the Byzantine general Belisarius forced the population of these villages to move to Naples, and in the 8th century, the first mentions of the settlement of Turris Octava appear, which was probably so named because of the coastal watchtowers. In 880, the town was settled by the Saracens with the permission of the Neapolitan bishop Athanasius. Its modern name - Torre del Greco - appeared in 1015. According to one version, it refers to a Greek hermit who found refuge in one of the coastal towers.
In the Middle Ages, Torre del Greco was part of the Kingdom of Naples until King Alfonso V of Aragon transferred it to the ownership of the Carafa family. In 1631, the city again suffered from the eruption of Vesuvius, but it soon began to flourish as a sea trade port and fishing center. It was then that coral mining and the production of products from them began to develop. In 1794, the historic center of Torre del Greco was buried under a 10-meter layer of lava.
During the French rule, Torre del Greco was the third largest city in the Kingdom of Naples after Naples and Foggia. On its outskirts, from the 16th century, summer residences of wealthy citizens and visitors from other parts of Italy began to be built. Among the most luxurious residences was the Palazzo Materazzo, which was converted into a dance school in 1970. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Torre del Greco was a popular summer resort for wealthy Italians who appreciated the local sandy beaches, picturesque countryside, flowering vineyards and proximity to Vesuvius. It was this proximity that made the city a starting point for climbing the mountain, which was also facilitated by the construction of a funicular that could take tourists from the city center to the crater itself.
During the Second World War, Torre del Greco suffered greatly from the Allied bombing, and after the war, the tourism industry began to gradually decline. The funicular also fell into disrepair. In addition, since the 1950s, urbanization, urban development and population growth have deprived Torre del Greco of its cozy rural flair, and most tourists have moved to neighboring Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast. Little is reminiscent of the city's former glory as a tourist resort. Attractions include the Monastery of Zoccolanti with a frescoed cloister, the parish church of Santa Croce with a baroque bell tower, the 17th century church of San Michele, Villa delle Ginestre, where the poet Giacomo Leopardi lived, the Coral Museum and the ruins of the Roman Villa Sora 1st century.
