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Posillipo was a quarter of Naples, Italy, located along the shore of the Bay of Naples to the west of the city. The town was located on the promontory of Posillipo, which divided the eastern Bay of Naples, with the city of Naples itself, from the small Bay of Baiae and the town of Pozzuoli. The area was notable for an ancient Roman tunnel running for over a half-mile through the Posillipo hill, and for being the location of the reputed tomb of the poet Virgil.

"The Adventure of the Red Circle[]

Emilia Lucca was born in Posillipo, the daughter of a prominent legal official named Augusto Barelli. She fell in love with Gennaro Lucca, an employee of her father's, but because of Lucca's poverty and poor social position Barelli forbade their marriage. The couple therefore eloped to Bari, where Emilia sold her jewels to purchase tickets to the United States.

Some time later, while living in New York, Gennaro met Giuseppe Gorgiano, another former inhabitant of Posillipo, and introduced him to Emilia. Unbeknownst to her, Gorgiano was also a member of the Red Circle, a dangerous Neapolitan secret society allied with the Carbonari. Gorgiano, who had earned the nickname "Death" in southern Italy, had fled to New York to escape the Italian police, and now attempted to create a branch of the Red Circle in the city. Without his wife's knowledge, Gennaro had joined this society in his youth, and Gorgiano had been the one to initiate him. Though leaving the society was impossible, Gennaro had attempted to escape their reach by coming to America: Gorgiano now attempted to force Gennaro to rejoin. The meeting of the two would set in motion the events that Sherlock Holmes would investigate in London some time later, ending with Gorgiano's death.

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