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.

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.

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).