Suite Ischia

Ischia’s roughly trapezoidal shape comes from a complex volcano just southwest of the Campi Flegrei area on the western side of the Bay of Naples. Around 56,000 years ago, the eruption of the trachytic Green Tuff Ignimbrite was followed by the formation of a caldera. The island’s highest point is Monte Epomeo (788 m (2,585 ft)), a volcanic horst made of green tuff. It was submerged after its eruption and later uplifted. Tectonic activity has strongly shaped the island’s volcanism, forming a series of horsts and grabens. Resurgent doming caused at least 800 m (2,600 ft) of uplift over the past 33,000 years, and many small monogenetic volcanoes formed around the uplifted block. During the Holocene, eruptions produced pumiceous tephras, tuff rings, lava domes, and lava flows. Ischia’s last eruption, in 1302, created a spatter cone and the Arso lava flow, which reached the northeast coast. Finds of Mycenaean and Iron Age pottery show that the Monte Vico acropolis site was inhabited from the Bronze Age. In the 8th century BC, Euboean Greeks from Eretria and Chalcis arrived and established a trading post for commerce with the Etruscans on the mainland. Greeks, Etruscans, and Phoenicians lived there together. Pithecusae thrived through trade in iron and with mainland Italy, helped by its fine harbor and the protection the sea offered from raids. In 700 BC, it was home to 5,000-10,000 people. In 1953, a ceramic Euboean object known as “Nestor’s Cup” was found in a grave on the island. It bears a few lines in the Greek alphabet, dating to around 730 BC. It is one of the most important early examples of Greek writing, from which the Latin alphabet descended by way of the Etruscan alphabet. Some scholars also think the inscription may be the earliest written reference to the Iliad.

You can swim or take a walk along the sea on this island. May to September is the best time to visit.

Good.

Ischia is a beautiful island formed by volcanic activity, and the Aragonese Castle is its standout landmark. I also visited Forio, Barano, Fontana, and Sant Angelo. Forio is known for winemaking, while Barano is the island’s second-largest city after Forio. We saw the oldest church of St. John the Baptist there, and Barano also produces the famous lemon liqueur called Limoncello. Sant Angelo is a typical Ischia village with roots in fishing. It has two thermal parks, Tropical and Afroditine, as well as the Gardens of Apollo.