TORRE DEL

GRECO  , a seaport of Campania, Italy, in the province of Naples, 71 M . S.E. of that city by rail . Pop . (1961), 35,328 . It lies at the south-west foot of Vesuvius, on the shore of the Bay of Naples . It is built chiefly of lava, and stands on the lava stream of 1631, which destroyed two-thirds of the older town . Great damage was done by the eruptions of 1737 and 1794; the earthquake of 1857 and the eruption of the 8th of December 1861 were even more destructive . After each dis, aster the people returned, the advantage of the rich volcanic land overcoming apprehensions of danger . In the outskirts are many beautiful villas and gardens . The town has shipbuilding yards and lava quarries . The inhabitants take part in the coral and sponge fishing off the African and Sicilian coasts, and coral is worked in the town . There is also fishing for tunny, sardines and oysters; hemp is woven, and the neighbourhood is famed for its fruit and wine .

In

June the great popular festival " Dei Quattro Altari " is annually celebrated here in commemoration of the abolition of the feudal dominion in 1700 . Remains of ancient villas and baths have been found here .