Il Gallo Lungo

Last updated
Il Gallo Lungo
Li Galli visti da Torca (34577357022).jpg
Li Galli seen from Torca, the Gallo Lungo is the one furthest to the left
Highest point
Coordinates 40°34′57″N14°26′05″E / 40.58250°N 14.43472°E / 40.58250; 14.43472
Geography
Italy Campania location map.svg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Il Gallo Lungo
Italy relief location map.jpg
Red triangle with thick white border.svg
Il Gallo Lungo
Il Gallo Lungo (Italy)
Country Italy
Region Campania
Group Li Galli

Il Gallo Lungo is an island of Italy, in Campania. Belonging to the municipality of Positano, it is part of the Li Galli group. It is the largest of the three islands of the group, with the shape of a long sickle (or a dolphin), [1] whose concavity, looking towards La Castelluccia and La Rotonda, defines a closed bay protected by other islets. On the convex side of Gallo Lungo, a small cove has been excavated, called "la Praja", with a very short beach, which allows boats to anchor. At the bottom of the cove there is a small house, while at the barren top of the island there is a coastal watchtower. [2]

Contents

History

Originally Gallo Lungo hosted a monastery and then a prison. During the reign Charles II of Naples (late 13th century), the Amalfi Coast became subject to increasing attacks by pirates. To deter them, Charles wished to build a watchtower on top of the remains of a Roman tower on Gallo Lungo. As he lacked sufficient funds he accepted an offer from Pasquale Celentano of Positano to lend the required funds, in return for being appointed warden of the fortification. The tower (today called the Aragonese Tower) was constructed around 1312 and occupied by a garrison of four soldiers. [3] The wardenship was subsequently passed to Angelo Balbo in 1382 and in 1425 to Viviano Mirelli. Responsibility for the islands then passed to Catalian Gilberto Squanes, the Miroballo family and then to the Marino Mastrogiudice before passing to the crown and then the Marquises of Positano. Eventually with the establishment of the Republic of Italy ownership passed to the town of Positano. The town later sold the islands to a native of Salerno who sold them to Davide Pariato. [3]

In 1919 the Russian choreographer and dancer Leonide Massine sighted the islands while staying with a friend in Positano. In 1922, [4] he purchased Gallo Lungo and began converting it from a place of defense into a private residence. Initially Massine restored and converted the old Aragonese Tower on Gallo Lungo into accommodation with a dance studio and featuring an open-air theatre. The theatre was subsequently destroyed by a storm. [5] With design advice from his friend Le Corbusier he constructed a villa on the site of the original Roman structure . [5] The villa featured the bedrooms facing Positano with a large terrace garden on the first floor facing Cape Licosa and Capri.

Shirley Hazzard in her book Greene on Capri recounts a visit to Massine.

After Massine's death the islands were purchased in 1988 by Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who spent the last years of his life here. He redecorated the villa in the Moorish style and clad its interiors with 19th-century tiles from Seville. He also installed a desalinization plant which provided a reliable water supply to and assisted in the development of the gardens,

After Nureyev's death the islands were purchased from his foundation in 1996 by Giovanni Russo, [4] a Sorrento hotelier who besides using them as a private residence also makes them available for private rental with a staff of 7 and a launch to take guests to and from the mainland. Members of the public are not allowed to land but can swim in the surrounding waters.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capri</span> Island in Italy

Capri is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Positano</span> Comune in Campania, Italy

Positano is a village and comune on the Amalfi Coast, in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italo-Western languages</span> Romance language branch

Italo-Western is, in some classifications, the largest branch of the Romance languages. It comprises two of the branches of Romance languages: Italo-Dalmatian and Western Romance. It excludes the Sardinian language and Eastern Romance.

Yat-Sen Chang Oliva is a Cuban former principal dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alessandra Ferri</span> Italian prima ballerina

Alessandra Ferri OMRI is an Italian prima ballerina. She danced with the Royal Ballet (1980–1984), American Ballet Theatre (1985–2007) and La Scala Theatre Ballet (1992–2007) and as an international guest artist, before temporally retiring on 10 August 2007, aged 44, then returning in 2013. She was eventually granted the rank of prima ballerina assoluta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brissago Islands</span>

The Brissago Islands are a group of two islands located in the Swiss part of Lake Maggiore close to Ronco sopra Ascona and Brissago. Both islands belong to the district of Locarno, in the canton of Ticino.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capri (town)</span> Town on island of Capri, Italy

Capri is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples situated on the island of Capri in Italy. It comprises the centre and east of the island, while the west belongs to Anacapri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sirenuse</span> Archipelago of islands off the Amalfi Coast of Italy

The Sirenusas, also known as the Gallos, are an archipelago of little islands off the Amalfi Coast of Italy between Isle of Capri and 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Province of Salerno's Positano, to which it is administratively attached. They are part of the Campanian Archipelago. The name, Sirenuse, is a reference to the mythological sirens said to have lived there.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rogliano, Haute-Corse</span> Commune in Corsica, France

Rogliano is a commune in the French department of Haute-Corse, Corsica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villa Lysis</span> Building in Capri, Italy

Villa Lysis is a villa on Capri built by industrialist and poet Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen in 1905. "Dedicated to the youth of love", it was Fersen's self-chosen exile from France after a sex scandal involving Parisian schoolboys and nude tableaux vivants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothée Gilbert</span> French ballet dancer

Dorothée Gilbert is a principal dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Dupond</span> French dancer (1959–2021)

Patrick Dupond was a French ballet dancer and artistic director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villa Rufolo</span>

Villa Rufolo is a villa within the historic center of Ravello, a town in the province of Salerno, southern Italy, which overlooks the front of the cathedral square. The initial layout dates from the 13th century, with extensive remodeling in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castello Barbarossa</span> Archaeological ruin in Anacapri, Italy

Castello Barbarossa is an archaeological ruin and ornithological station in Anacapri, on the island of Capri, Italy. It is named after the former corsair and Ottoman Kapudan Pasha (Admiral) Hayreddin Barbarossa, who stormed it in 1535 and destroyed it in 1544. The construction date is uncertain but it perhaps dates back to the late ninth century. From 1898, the structure, now in ruins, was owned by the Swedish psychiatrist Axel Munthe who donated it to his foundation. The surroundings, interesting for their botanical features, are home to the island's ornithological station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ana Laguna</span> Spanish-Swedish ballet dancer

Ana Laguna is a Spanish-Swedish ballet dancer, court dancer and professor. She has danced throughout the world with such legends as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail Baryshnikov earning prizes for her performances from France, Italy, Monaco, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United States.

Carlo Di Lanno is an Italian ballet dancer. He is a former Principal Dancer with the San Francisco Ballet and Dresden Semperoper Ballett. He trained and graduated at Accademia Teatro alla Scala, and danced with Teatro alla Scala and Staatsballett Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Il San Pietro di Positano</span> Building in Positano, Italy

The San Pietro di Positano is a 5-star luxury hotel, located near the town of Positano on the Amalfi Coast of Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petra Conti</span> Italian ballerina

Petra Conti is an Italian prima ballerina. She is a former principal dancer with Los Angeles Ballet, the Boston Ballet and La Scala Theatre Ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Path of 100 Towers (Sardinia)</span> Trekking route along the coastline of Sardinia in Italy

The Path of 100 Towers is a multi-day trekking route that begins and ends in Cagliari (Sardinia). The path is named after the 105 historical coastal towers along the route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forts of Capri</span> Fortifications in Capri, Italy

The forts of Capri, also called coastal forts of Anacapri or Bourbon forts, are located in the town of Anacapri, Campania.

References

  1. ↑ "La forma dell'isola di Gallo Lungo, a Positano, ricorda quella di un delfino". Fatti Strani dal Mondo (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-11-30.
  2. ↑ Les Phéniciens et l'Odyssée (in French). Paris: Victor Bérard. 1902. p. 341.
  3. 1 2 Sabella. Page 20.
  4. 1 2 Fisher. Page 114.
  5. 1 2 Berger. Page 176.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.