Description : Procida (Neapolitan: 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 City of Naples, in the region of Campania. Some Mycenaean Greek objects from the 16th to 15th centuries BCE have been found on Procida. Traces have also been found on Vivara, an islet off the southwest coast of Procida. The first historically attested Greek settlers arrived from the Aegean to this island during the 8th century BCE, followed by other Greeks coming from nearby Cuma. The island is mentioned by the Roman satirist, Juvenal, in Sat. 3, 5, as a barren place. Later, during Roman rule, Procida became a renowned resort for the patrician class of Rome. Middle Ages After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Byzantine reconquest in the Gothic Wars, Procida remained under the jurisdiction of the Duke of Naples. The continual devastation first by the Vandals and Goths, and later by the Saracens, pushed the population to resettle in a fortified village typical of medieval times. The population was sheltered by a cape, naturally defended by walls that peak on the sea that were later fortified, thus acquiring the name of Terra Murata ("walled land"). Testimonies from this period are from those who manned the watchtowers on the sea, which became the symbol of the island. With the Norman conquest of Southern Italy, Procida experienced feudal dominion; the island, with a mainland annex (the future Mount of Procida), came under the control of the Da Procida family which continued to hold the island for more than two centuries. The most famous member of the family was John III of Procida, counsellor to Emperor Frederick II and leader of the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers. In the 1339, the fiefdom, together with the Island of Ischia, was handed over to the Cossa family, of French origin, loyal followers of the Angevin dynasty then reigning in Naples. Baldassare Cossa was elected Antipope in 1410 with the name of John XXIII. In this period a deep economic transformation of the island began, as agriculture was slowly abandoned in favour of fishing.
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