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The Gulf of Naples is located
off the southwestern coast of Italy
(province
of Naples,
Campania region). It opens to the west into the
Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered on the north by the cities of Naples
and
Pozzuoli, on the east by
Mount Vesuvius, and on the south by the
Sorrentine Peninsula and its main town
Sorrento; the Peninsula separates it from the
Gulf of Salerno.
The islands of Capri,
Ischia
and
Procida are located in the gulf. The area is an important
tourist destination for Italy with the
Roman ruins of
Pompeii and
Herculaneum (destroyed in the A.D. 79 eruption
of
Vesuvius) nearby.
The naval Battle of the Gulf of
Naples took place on 5 June 1284 in
the south of the Gulf of Naples, Italy, when an Aragonese-Sicilian galley
fleet commanded by
Roger of Lauria defeated a Neapolitan galley fleet commanded by
Charles of Salerno (later
Charles II of Naples) and captured Charles. Charles' Genoese
allies had collected several large fleets of galleys, and Lauria
determined to attack Charles' galleys which were at Naples
before these could join them and hunt down Lauria. He used the cover
of darkness to arrive off Naples, where he made several raids ashore
to try to tempt Charles out where he could be fought. On the night
before the battle, Lauria captured 2 Provençal galleys sent ahead by
Charles' ally and father
Charles I of Naples who was heading south from Genoa. Charles
had definite orders to stay in port and wait for his allies, but his
impetuousness overcame his initial reluctance and after Lauria's
galleys approached closely the Neapolitans came out in single file
and chased them in a disorganised manner southward. Lauria feigned
retreat and kept ahead of them until he drew close to 10 or so
galleys he'd left near
Castellammare, then turned and formed a crescent formation, with
the galleys that had joined at the rear, and attacked Charles' fleet
from the sides, where galleys were the most vulnerable. Charles'
15-18 Regno galleys fled back to Naples, leaving the 9-13
French-crewed galleys to be captured. Charles' galley was the last
to be captured, and surrendered only when Lauria sent divers
overboard in order to sink it. Charles was kept prisoner until
Edward I of England intervened in 1288. |