Elizabeth Craven's Villa at Naples
Elizabeth Craven, the Georgian feminist writer, spent the last twelve years of her life living in Italy, in a house overlooking the gulf of Naples. The view across the bay to the volcano of Vesuvius was one of the finest in Italy, or indeed in the world. View Of Naples From Posillipo With Mount Vesuvius Beyond by Karl Wilhelm Gottzloff Travellers described the spot, at Posillipo, as glowingly verdant, the trees hung with vines and the scarlet flowers of the pomegranate brilliant in the hedges. There were very few houses, just the scattered cottages of fishermen and their boats along the rocky coast. In every direction you could see picturesque little islands on the horizon. One of the landmarks was the tomb of Virgil, in a grotto at Posillipo. The British artist William Turner made several sketches of it when he visited Naples in 1819, and he also sketched the view across the bay. He might have bumped into Elizabeth Craven as she was already living the...