1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Procida

PROCIDA (Gr. Προχύτη, Lat. Prochyta), an island on the coast of Campania, Italy, 2 m. S.W. of Capo Miseno, and 2 m. N.E. of Ischia on the west side of the Gulf of Naples, and about 12 m. S.W. of Naples. Pop. (1901), of the town, 2520; of the whole island, one commune, 14,440. It is about 2 m. in length and of varying width, and, reckoning in the adjacent island of Vivara, is made up of four extinct craters, parts of the margins of all of which have been destroyed by the sea. The highest point of it is only 250 ft. above sea-level. It is very fertile, and the population is engaged in the cultivation of vines and fruit and in fishing. Procida, the only town, lies on the east side; its castle is now a prison. It also contains a royal palace. Classical authors explained the name of Procida either as an allusion to its having been detached from Ischia, or as being that of the nurse of Aeneas.