Torre del Greco (English: "Tower of the Greek") is a town and comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region of Campania, with a population of some 88,000 as of 2007.
The people are sometimes called Corallini because of the plentiful coral in the nearby sea, and because the city has been a major producer of coral jewelry and cameo brooches since the 17th Century.
In Roman times, Torre del Greco was most likely a suburb of Herculaneum, characterized by patrician villas. After the 79 AD Vesuvius' eruption which destroyed the area, two villages are known to have existed in the area, Sora and Calastro. The Byzantine general Belisarius moved their inhabitants to Naples in 535. Around 700, it is known a toponym Turris Octava, probably referred to a coastal watch tower.
The territory was shortly settled by the Saracens in 880, with permission of bishop Athanasius of Naples. The current name appears for the first time in 1015; according to tradition, the name would stem from a Greek hermit who had established himself in the tower, or from the cultivation of a particular vine from Greece.
Torre del Greco was part of the Royal estats in the Kingdom of Naples, until King Alfonso V of Aragon ceded it to the Carafa family.
In 1631 Torre del Greco was again damaged by an eruption of the Vesuvius. Its citizen bought back their rights in 1699, after paying 106,000 ducats to their landord, Marquis of Monforte, and thenceforth flourished as maritime trade and fishing point. The tradition of coral crafting dates to this period.
The historical center of Torre del Greco was buried under a 10 m-deep layer of lava in 1794.
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