The location where the healing thermalism was born has evolved as a pole of boating thanks to the development of port infrastructures:
The Casamicciola one is the second most important port of the island, also from a commercial point of view. The thermal baths of Piazza Bagni have attracted personalities such as Lamartine, Renan, Ibsen, Garibaldi (who healed here his wounds of Aspromonte), while the rich clay deposits, over the centuries, have allowed the growth of a flourishing craftsmanship, crossing with the historical destinies of the inhabitants and the development of tourism. The brand of the local ceramic factories is still quite famous. There are various suppositions regarding the etymology of Casamicciola and the toponym is attested for the first time in 1265 as Casamiczula. On the hill of the Castiglione a hamlet of huts was built with the typical characteristics of the Apennine civilisation (Middle Bronze Age-early Iron Age). Bowls, amphoras and large basins were found; vases decorated with incisions, which according to Georg Buchner, the great archeologist, reflect the technical ability of the potters of that time. Moving from the port area of Piazza Marina, we can see the small church of Buon Consiglio, also known as the church of the Sailors, founded by a group of marine masters starting from 1821. Orientating towards the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, there is the church of San Pasquale Baylon, founded in the first half of 1700 by Francesco Antonio Corbera, nephew of San Giovan Giuseppe della Croce. Then you enter in the heart of the thermal baths, beyond the Gurgitello basin: here there is the famous Piazza Bagni with its ancient accomodation and treatment establishments. All the churches in the surrounding area show the signs of a fascinating history, like the parish dedicated to the Sacred Heart and to Santa Maria Maddalena Penitente, with three naves and nine altars. Along via Castanito, towards the Sentinella, beyond the ancient seat of Casamicciola Geophysical Observatory, there is the church of the Immaculate Conception, founded un 1703. Not far, there is the Villa Parodi Delfino, which was once the Bellevue Villa Zavota hotel, which hosted Giuseppe Garibaldi, back from Aspromonte, from 21st of June to 18th of July 1864. Another guest of illustrious talent was Ernest Renan, who returned there, after his first stay of 1875, also in 77 and and 79, with is wife Cornelia Scheffer. Intellectuals and writers such as the Norwegian Henrik Ibsen and the Danish Vilhelm Bergsøe paid tribute to Renan by visiting him.
