The Campanian Archipelago ( it, Arcipelago Campano), also called Neapolitan Archipelago ('), is an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

in the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

, in southwestern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. It principally comprises 5 islands: Capri,

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...

Nisida Nisida is a volcanic islet of the Flegrean Islands archipelago, in southern Italy. It lies at a very short distance from Cape Posillipo, just north of Naples; it is now connected to the mainland by a stone bridge. The islet is almost circular, wi ...

Procida Procida (; nap, Proceta ) is one of the Flegrean Islands off the coast of Naples in southern Italy. The island is between Cape Miseno and the island of Ischia. With its tiny satellite island of Vivara, it is a ''comune'' of the Metropolitan Ci ...

, and

Vivara Vivara is a satellite islet of Procida, one of the three main islands in the Gulf of Naples. (The other two are Ischia and Capri.) Geography Vivara flanks Procida to the south-west and is connected to it by a bridge. Vivara is a crescent-shape ...

. Most of the archipelago belongs to the

Metropolitan City of Naples The Metropolitan City of Naples ( it, Città metropolitana di Napoli) is an Italian metropolitan city in Campania region, established on 1 January 2015. Its capital city is Naples; within the city there are 92 comunes (municipalities). It wa ...

(and previously part of the

Province of Naples The Province of Naples ( it, Provincia di Napoli; nap, Pruvincia 'e Nàpule) was a province in the Campania region of southern Italy. In 2014/2015, the reform of local authorities (Law 142/1990 and Law 56/2014), replaced the Province of Naples ...

Extent

The five principal islands are all administered by the Metropolitan City of Naples: * Capri and * the 4 Phlegraean Islands: **

& its companion islet, the Aragonese Castle **

, **

, and **

. Nearby islets and skerries are usually included in the archipelago as well: * Aragonese Castle * the

Sirenuse The Sirenusas ( it, Le Sirenuse), also known as the Gallos (', "the Cocks"), are an archipelago of little islands off the Amalfi Coast of Italy between Isle of Capri and southwest of Province of Salerno's Positano, to which it is administratively ...

(the ) & the nearby . * Gaiola Island * , * , * the Capri ''faraglioni'', * , * . Most of these minor islets belong to Naples as well, except the Sirenuse (Galli), which belong to the

Province of Salerno The Province of Salerno ( it, Provincia di Salerno) is a province in the Campania region of Italy. __TOC__ Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Battipagli ...

History

The ancient name of this archipelago was the Parthenopaean Islands (', from Parthenope, the ancient name of Naples). It originally included the

Pontine Islands The Pontine Islands (, also ; it, Isole Ponziane ) are an archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Lazio region, Italy. The islands were collectively named after the largest island in the group, Ponza. The other islands in the archipe ...

, which are now considered an archipelago in its own right. , home to

Castel dell'Ovo Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle") is a seafront castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman poet Virgil, who had a reputation in ...

, used to be an island – albeit very near the coastline – in this archipelago. However, it is now a peninsula attached directly to the mainland.

Gallery

File:Capri Centre Belvedere.jpg, File:Ischia da procida.jpg, File:Nisida al tramonto.jpg, File:Procida1.jpg, File:Vivara vista ponte.jpg,

External links

Archipelagoes of Italy Archipelagoes of the Mediterranean Sea Campanian volcanic arc Islands of Campania Phlegraean Fields {{Campania-geo-stub