ISCHIA

Ischia, capital city of the island, is the most densely populated centre: it is bordered to the north-east by fine sandy beaches and by public and private pine forests,

while towards the south there is a prevalence of wooded and agricultural hilly landscape that dominates the postcard place par excellence: the Aragonese Castle with its islet. You land in Ischia Porto which, with the nearby hamlet of Sant’Alessandro, was once called Villa dei Bagni (Baths Villa) due to the presence of thermal springs, which today are used thanks to modern accommodations. In ancient times, there used to be a lake formed on an old volcanic crater which then collapsed, which Kind Ferdinand II of Bourbon transformed into a port in 1854. The suggestive Riva Destra of the dock, among the characteristic corners of the nightlife. On the quay, a few steps away from the bollard, there is the parish church of Santa Maria di Portosalvo and, within walking distance, the Francesco Buonocore Military Thermal Establishment: it was the chef physician’s building of the Kingdom of Naples, who had it built in the first half of the 18th century. From here you enter the realm of shopping, through Via Roma. You can see the so-called church of San Pietro with the Battistessa square. Continuing along Corso Vittoria Colonna, up to the Piazzetta where, between boutiques and local nightclubs, you can see the small chapel of San Girolamo: it already existed in the early 16th century.

Continuing towards the coast, in the direction of Ischia Ponte, up to the edge of the Arso lava flow, covered by a Bourbon pine forest, where there is the church and the Franciscan convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie and Sant’Antonio, and the Antoniana library.

Towards Ischia Ponte, known as the ancient medieval Seaside Hamlet (Borgo di Mare) or, in more modern times, as the Gelsa Hamlet (Borgo di Gelsa), you can immediately notice the importance of the Seminary Palace, where there is the residence of the bishop of the Ischia diocese. It was founded in 1741. Around you can see the palace of the Lanfreschi di Bellarena family and the one of the Lauro family. Further on, among the characteristic workshops of artisans and painters, there is the Chiesa Collegiata dello Spirito Santo, founded around 1570 by the sailors of Gelsa Hamlet: it is the seat of the cult of San Giovan Giuseppe della Croce, Alcantarine Franciscan (he was born in Ischia in 1654 with the name of Carlo Gaetano Calosirto and died in Naples in 1734), a personality of considerable importance in the Neapolitan religious history of the 18th century and patron saint of the island. Within walking distance there is the Cathedral Church dedicated to the Assumption or Santa Maria della Scala. In the first chapel of the left aisle there is the baptistery: the tank is the one where the future San Giovan Giuseppe della Croce was baptised on 15th of August 1654. At the corner of the Cathedral there is the Palazzo dell’Orologio (Clock Palace), with the public clock on the facade. In the 18th century it was called the House of the Parliamentarians: it was the seat of the town hall. Today it houses the Museum of the Sea (Museo del Mare), rich of testimonies of the sailors life and the fishermen of the island.

The Aragonese Castle, which you can right after, is the paradigm of the local history. It rises on the so-called “minor island”: it forms with it a monumental and naturalistic ensemble. The fortress was built in 474 before Christ by Hiero I, who landed to help the Cumans in the war against the Tyrrhenians. But its importance is tangible from the 5th century, and it grows until reaching the maximum splendor between the 14th and the 16th century. The Castle is 115 meters high, and you can access by a street carved in the rock wanted by Alfonso I of Aragon (around 1447): before there was only an external staircase, which you can glimpse by boat when you pass by. The connection with the ancient hamlet of Ischia is guaranteed by a bridge, wanted also by Alfonso I. The Church of the Immacolata, of baroque style, is a must see. It was built in the 18t century; the Convent of the Clarisse (from 1575) with the cemetery; the ruins of the Cathedral of the Assumption, dating back to 1301: in the crypt there are the frescoes from the school of Giotto. The ancient cathedral had three naves and side chapels. At the altar at the end of the left aisle, in 1509, the wedding between the commander Ferrante d’Avalos and the poetess Vittoria Colonna was celebrated. Vittoria Colonna was a woman of exceptional personality who created on the Castle one of the most important cenacles of Renaissance intellectuals. The itinerary on the Castle continues with the orthogonal church of San Pietro a Pantaniello from the Renaissance period (middle of the 16th century) which still keeps its charm. In the nearby prisons, during the Risorgimento period, some patriots were detained. Today the spaces host exhibitions and artistic performances and they are included in the “Path of the sun” which overlooks the islands of Vivara and Procida, embracing the majestic Neapolitan gulf and the Cartaromana bay, dominated by the tall Guevara Tower known as Michelangelo Tower, with its halls full of frescoes from the 16th century: at its feet there is the small church of Sant’Anna, from which the nearby cliffs take their name. It dates back to the first half of the 16th century. In the bay, the remains of the seaside villas have been brought to light in the last years, as well as a nymphaeum and port structures, including a long wooden formwork almost intact, dating back to the Roman city of Aenaria, among the main ports and commercial centers of the Gulf of Naples between the 1st century BC and the 2nd AD. The submerged archaeological site can be visited with a glass-bottomed boat. From the coastal area, you can proceed inland to the square of Campagnano, with the parish church of San Domenico della SS. Annunziata. The square is the starting point for breath-taking excursions, towards Piano Liguori and the eastern promontories: unforgettable landscapes.