From the Neolithic to the arrival of the Greeks

      Situated approximately 5 kilometres off Punta Campanella in a strategic position at the southern entrance to the Gulf of Naples, Capri broke away from the mainland to become an island approximately 10,000 years ago. Since then conditions have led to the development of a completely independent island history. The history of Capri between the 4th millennium BC and the 8th century BC - from the Neolithic until the founding of the Greek colony of Cumae (halfway through the 8th century BC) - shows that the island was part of an extensive system of maritime communications. In fact, excavation of Grotta delle Felci has revealed imported ceramics and much use of a volcanic glass (obsidian) not naturally found on Capri (Capri is not a volcanic island) - proof that a network of connections with the Pontine archipelago and the Eolie Islands existed as far back as the 4th millennium BC. It is difficult to establish the living conditions of the indigenous inhabitants of the island prior to the founding of the Greek colony of Cumae as no archaeological findings indicating the role of the Italic community before and after the arrival of the Greeks have yet been discovered.