A week on the Island of Ischia.

 






  



 


Last june I spent a week on this island. It is located some 30 km from Naples (IT). It is known mostly for its spas.

 

Forio is one of the towns on the island. It has four or five churches; lots of shops, cafes and restaurants. The main street in Forio is practically a long boulevard lined with shops and cafes.

 

Here you see one of the churches of Forio. The church of Soccorso. As you can see it overlooks the sea.

  








  

This tower is one of the landmark of Forio. it is called "Il Torrione". Its literal translation is "the big tower".

 

People who loves plants and flowers should not miss La Mortella Gardens.

 

La Mortella Gardens is a large botanical garden created from the 1950's by William Walton and his wife Susana. Walton was a composer.

 

This is me! You can see a bit of Sant Angelo in the background of this pic.

 

Sant Angelo is a small village, but it has a good choice of shops, cafes and restaurants. It is touristy, but it is a nice place to spend some hours.

 

Here you see the entrance of a shop in Sant Angelo.

 

If you like to visit Sant Angelo properly you should climb several stairs. In fact, part of this village was built on a hill.

 

Ischia is the main town on the island. it is mde of two areas. Ischia Ponte; the "modern area" with the harbour and Ischia Porto; the old core.

 

Ischia is not my favourite place on the island, but it is not ugly. One of the main attractions of the island is situated there. The Aragonese Castle.

 

The Aragonese Castle is a fortress linked to the island by a bridge. It was originally built by Hieron I of Syracuse in 474 B. C. It was then occupied by several populations including the Romans the  Visigoths and the Arabs. The castle reached its golden age at the end of the XVI century when it hosted 1892 families; a nunnery, the bishop, various religious orders; the prince and his garrison. There were 13 churches at that time on that area. Today the castle is made of the ruined cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption; a crypt with the remains of an older chapel, dating back to the eleventh and twelfth centuries; decorated with frescoes and some other churches. At the end of your tour of the castle you can visit a museum of weapons and another of istruments of torture (replicas). There is a cafe-restaurant, a restaurant and even a hotel inside the castle.

 

I went only to two beaches on the island. In this pics you see a bit Sant Angelo from afar. Thi pic was taken from the Maronti Beach. This beach is around 2 km long.

 

Here you see part of San Montano Bay. It is a nice beach.

 

I obviously had some sweet treats during this holiday. There is a bakery near the hotel I stayed and I always had a pastry almost every day. Il Fornaretto is the name of this bakery.

 

At Il Fornaretto they also have several cakes.

Well, I decided to quit this blog, because I found it not users friendly. I had some troubles in writing properly, but it seems things are going well now. I will post something else soon!