Cape Miseno

Capo Miseno Lightouse

Capo Miseno Lightouse
Campania
Location	Capo Miseno Bacoli Campania Italy
Coordinates	40°46′41.71″N 14°05′20.19″E / 40.7782528°N 14.0889417°E
Year first constructed	1856 (first)
Year first lit	1950s (current)
Construction	masonry tower
Tower shape	cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern attached to the seaward corner of a 2-storey keeper’s house
Markings / pattern	white tower
Height	12 metres (39 ft)
Focal height	80 metres (260 ft)
Current lens	type L2
Range	main: 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi) reserve: 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi)
Characteristic	Fl (2) W 10s.
Admiralty number	E1620
NGA number	9380
ARLHS number	ITA-027
Italy number	2402 E.F.
Managing agent	Marina Militare[1] [2]

Cape Miseno (Italian: Capo Miseno, Latin: Misenum, Ancient Greek: Μισήνον) is the headland that marks the northwestern limit of the Gulf of Naples as well as the Bay of Pozzuoli in southern Italy. The cape is directly across from the island of Procida and is named for Misenus, a character in Virgil's Aeneid.

History

Capo Miseno

Historically, the cape was important to the Romans since it was a natural shelter for passage into the inner harbor of Portus Julius, the home port for the Roman western imperial fleet. Mythologically, important sections of the Aeneid play out in the Gulf of Naples: This is where Aeneas' comrade, Misenus, master of the sea-horn — the conch-shell — made "the waves ring" with his music and challenged the sea-god Triton to musical battle. He was dashed into the sea and killed by "jealous Triton". Then:

"...Pious Aeneas

sets up a mighty tomb above Misenus

bearing his arms, a trumpet, and an oar;

it stands beneath a lofty promontory,

now known as Cape Misenus after him:

it keeps a name that lasts through all the ages."

(trans. Allen Mandelbaum. The Aeneid. Bantam. 1981)

See also

• List of lighthouses in Italy

References

1. Capo Miseno The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 6 August 2016
2. Capo Miseno Marina Militare. Retrieved 6 August 2016

External links

• Servizio Fari Marina Militare

Capo Miseno and Bacoli seen from above

Coordinates: 40°46′40″N 14°05′22″E / 40.77771°N 14.08941°E