DISCOVERING THE ISLANDS
OF THE GULF OF NAPLES
WITH LUISA
I owe the idea of taking you to Procida and Ischia to my friend Cecilia,
whom I met in London, in that distant time, we were neighbours,
mothers busy raising our children far from Italy.
For Cecilia, of Roman origin, but with an Ischian father,
Ischia has always been home, a land to return to.
Inevitable, therefore, that since I left London, our meeting place is often Ischia,
at her paternal house.
Ischia as an "ischitana"
Cecilia grew up here and every corner of the island has a memory of the hot summers
of her childhood.
She takes me to eat in her favourite restaurant, where she has been going since she was a child, the management is always the same, Zelluso, which in dialect means "bald head" and not "dirty", as perhaps it would be mistakenly translated in Italian.
Cecilia introduces me to the island's artisans.
In Lacco Ameno,
the shoemaker makes custom-made sandals, immediate delivery.
We walk up to the top of the Volcano (100 m above sea level) between ancient woods and old shepherds' shelters.
Cecilia also has its preferences for thermal baths, of course… on the sea close to the rocky walls of the island, between mixed Mediterranean and tropical vegetation, swimming pools and waterfalls with hot and warm, incredibly healing water situated all through the island.
As often happens
when you are introduced to a place by a local, through their eyes, everything is magically wonderful and acquires greater meaning.
The islands of the Gulf of Naples are all beautiful.
Procida is the smaller (not younger) sister of Ischia, you cannot miss it on the route by ship
from Naples to Ischia.
PROCIDA
On one of our boats trips we ended up taking an unforgettable swim right in front
of the small island of Procida.
From the water, the port of La Corricella, with its colourful houses, seemed almost to float, a vision, a mirage. While from the ferry, at first glance, it looks like an island like many others. La Corricella harbour with its pastel-coloured houses is on the other side, completely hidden away.
Immortalized several times by photographers and protagonist in two internationally renowned films, "The Postman" directed by Michael Radford and the most recent "The Talented Mr Repley" with Matt Damon directed by Anthony Minghella, the small port is worth a visit and once you are there do not miss the fantastic spaghetti with clams at the restaurant La Lampara.
I recommend planning a visit to Procida in late April, May, when the island is coloured with wildflowers but above all the air is soaked by the smell of “Zagare” (lemon flowers).
As the ferry begins its landing on the island, you are invaded by this intoxicating scent that becomes more and more persistent as you walk along the small alleys in the shade of tall ancient walls that are there to protect gardens and secret courtyards filled with lemon trees. The lemon blossoms are open and fragrant throughout the month of May.
Procida is a small island of fishermen and therefore it will not be difficult to meet some of them on the pier sewing their nets and exchange a few words about their fishing day.
This year, capital of Italian culture, Procida’s alleys are trampled by thousands of visitors and is therefore on my proposals list only from spring-autumn 2023.
Next year, things will have calmed down a little and Procida will be back to being that delightful little island that is a pleasure to cross on a beautiful spring day (I counted 25,000.00 steps from head-to-head).
Testimonials
"Our relationship with Luisa has developed over the course of several years while running a number of group art & pilates tours to the warm and welcoming village of Mercatello sul Metauro, where Luisa has managed to create amazing new experiences for our guests, year after year.
We have come to trust Luisa’s ideas and suggestions, so it was a no-brainer to ask Luisa to help us develop our 2023 adventures to southern Italy."
- Nancy Olker & Sue Primeau,
Teaming Pond, Inc.
