L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES The Cursed Island of Gaiola G aiola is a tiny island off t h e c o a s t o f P o s i l i p o , Naples. It is a beautiful private island surrounded by sparkling clear water and spec- tacular views that would make anyone's heart go pitter pat. For the reclusive millionaires who h a v e o w n e d i t , i t p r o b a b l y seemed like the perfect place for a summer villa, the perfect place to play and indulge in their vices far from prying eyes. It is perfect, yes, yet this idyl- l i c M e d i t e r r a n e a n r e t r e a t remains abandoned. Its build- ings are crumbling, and its sun kissed cobbled streets are in ruin. No one dares to live here anymore. The grim tales that have been told of suicide, mur- der, illness and financial ruin that have dogged previous own- ers prove that no one is safe here. Fear rules. Toward the end of the nine- teenth century, in 1874 to be exact, the island was purchased by Luigi de Negri. It was de Negri who built the white villa that stands on the island today. He was a successful business- man but not long after he built the villa, his company unexpect- edly went bankrupt. This once v e r y r i c h m a n w a s s u d d e n l y very poor. In the spring of 1911, sea Captain Gaspar Albenga was piloting his boat around Gaiola, pondering the idea of buying the island. He never returned, and no trace of him, or his boat, has ever been found. Over the years, people have talked about the tragedies con- n e c t e d t o t h e i s l a n d , b u t i t wasn't until the 1920's that the roll-call of doom really began. It started when owner Hans Braun was murdered. Not long after that his widow drowned in the sea not to far the island. The next owner, Otto Grunback, suf- fered a fatal heart-attack while on vacation there, and the owner after Grunback committed sui- cide in a Swiss mental hospital. The next two island dwellers didn't die but suffered other tragedies. The Baron Karl Paul Langheim ended in total finan- cial ruin while Gianni Agnelli, the head of Fiat, lost his only son to suicide. Agnelli's trou- bles continued when his nephew Umberto, whom he was groom- ing to take over Fiat, died from a rare form of cancer at the age of 33. Next in line for a Gaiola mis- f o r t u n e w a s t h e e c c e n t r i c t y c o o n , J o h n P a u l G e t t y . I n 1973 his 16 year old grandson, John Paul Getty III, was kid- napped by the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia. Getty refused to pay the ransom because he thought it was a hoax. When the kidnappers realized they were not being taken seriously, they sent Getty a lock of the boy's hair along with one of his ears. Getty paid up. The last owner of the island w a s j a i l e d o n f r a u d c h a r g e s when his insurance company s u d d e n l y c l o s e d i t s d o o r s i n 1978. All just coincidences you say? Maybe. But there is also this: Gaiola is full of ruins from the Roman era. Up until the nineteenth cen- tury a submerged Roman build- ing, called the School of Virgil, was clearly visible in the waters near the island. It was generally believed that this was the place where Virgil taught the mystical arts. That may be why there has been so much interest in this part of the coast in the past. One theory is that the potions created here by Virgil and his pupils have permanently pollut- ed the water, and that is the rea- son the curse affects those who linger here too long. Or, if we go back to 1820 w h e n a r c h a e o l o g i s t W i l l i a m Bechi owned the property, we find that Bechi began several archaeological digs. The digs brought to light several Roman buildings that had been buried for centuries. When Bechi died, his daughter sold the property to Luigi de Negri, the man who built the villa. After De Negri went bank- rupt, the property was put up for auction and purchased by the Marquis del Tufo. There were two more owners after del Tufo, one being the British Admiral Nelson Foley, brother of Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, and the second was the f a m i l y o f I t a l i a n S e n a t o r Giuseppe Paratore. I n t h e m i d 1 9 6 0 ' s t h e Senator's nephew made a star- tling discovery. While organiz- i n g a b o o k c a s e i n t h e l i v i n g room of the island's villa, he f o u n d a s q u a r e o f c a n v a s attached to the wall behind the PHYLLIS MACCHIONI books. Under the canvas there was a fresco depicting a large female head with snakes for hair, a Gorgon. According to Greek mythology, their power is so strong, they can turn anyone who looks at them into stone. The Senator, who understood t h e e v i l i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e Gorgon, was frightened by the prospect of bringing bad luck to h i s f a m i l y , a n d o r d e r e d h i s nephew to cover the face. His nephew did as he was asked but not before he had photographed it. He took the photographs of the Gorgon mask to a member of the Institute of Restoration in Rome, who dated it between the 2nd and 3rd century AD. The expert also confirmed that it was quite possible that the mask, p o p u l a r i n b o t h G r e e k a n d Roman mythology as a protec- tive deity, had been removed from it's original location on the island, and affixed to the wall in the library of the villa. And just maybe, moving that protective Gorgon symbol by someone who didn't understand its meaning or power is the root of all the evil that has plagued this beautiful place for cen- turies. We may never know the real reason why this island has such a dark past, but today it is part of a marine protected area under the jurisdiction of the Region of Campania. You can visit if feel brave, here's their web site. http://www.areamarinaprotetta- gaiola.it Phyllis Macchioni is an Italian American writer who lives on the Italian Riviera. She is the author of a recently pub- lished collection of essays enti- tled "This Italian Life – People and Places " , available on Am az on. Vis it her blog at https :// www.this italianlife. blogspot.com Facebook: https://www.face- book.com/phyllis.macchioni Email:phyllisinitaly@gmail.c om - Twitter: @phyllisinitaly Luigi de Negri built the white villa that stands on the island today Tourists on the island of Gaiola

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