ATTRACTIONS

THE CASLE ARAGONESE

Into the harbour area is the trading part of the town and another important area is that one around the "Castello Aragonese" which is called "Ischia Ponte", a picturesque ancient fisher's village. The evocative Ischia's harbour was originally the crater of a volcanonow extinct and sunk which originated a lake. It remained a lake until 1854 when the King Ferdinand of Bourbon ordered to force a passage opening the harbour. In the area of Ischia happened the last volcanic event on the island: in 1301 from a crater opened in the Fiaiano's area and a lava flow run down to the sea, covering houses and fields, giving origin to the actual "Punta Molino".

NECROPOLI UNDERGROUND

On the underground floor of the Church of Santa Restituta has been retrieved and restored, due to the engagement of Don Pietro Monti, an important archaeological site. The excavations testify the human settlements from the time of Pithecusae until the beginnings of Christianity: there are the ovens used by Greek potters and tombs dating to Romans and first Christians time.

SEA MUSEUM

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CHIESA DEL SOCCORSO

The church called “del Soccorso” rises on the top of a promontory overlooking the sea, in Forio; it looks  like a white spot with the blue sea in the background. The outside is fully painted white and the facade reveals diverse architectural styles starting from Greek- Byzatine to Moorish  architecture.
 

MUSEO PITHAECUSAE

The findings in the first section witnesses the "net" of commercial exchange Pithecusaens established with Near East and Carthage, Greece and Spain, Southern Etruria, Puglia, Ionic Calabria and Sardinia. The exposition goes on with part of the objects accompanying the dead of the necropolis, located at S. Montano's valley, which served as a burial place since the second half of the VIII century BC. The most famous pithecusaen vases were found at the Necropolis: among these are the typical late geometric crater decorated with the shipwreck scene, and the famous Rhodes'cup, on which an epigram in three verses in Euboic Alphabet was engraved after baking, herefore surely Pithecusaen, referring to the famous Nestor's cup described in the Iliad. It must be mentioned, at this point, that the Euboic alphabet testifies the patrimony thepopulations from central Italy borrowed from the Greek of Pithecusae.

TORRIONI

Many towers have been built in the paste along Ischia coastline to get better  sight of the sea around the island . Since the IX century,  they used to be built in order to defend the island against raids of pirates. Then, starting from the XVI century, these fortresses were equipped with cannons and fire weapons to be used against Saracens. One of those tower, called “Torrione” still now existing, is located in , nearby the harbour. It was built in 1480, has two floors: the ground floor had not access from outside and was used as weapons  and munitions storage, there was also a  rain-water tank; on the upper floor there was the Garisson’s accomodation (about 10 people) led by a “torriere” that had the task of promptly taking sight of  any enemy ship and sounding the alarm.  On the top , there was a terrace provided with four cannons. Historians notice that many similar towers were built in Forio until the XVIII century, although many of them were used as private residence of noble families. 16 similar fotresses have  been counted in all between 1480 and 1700, plus five more towers built in the district of Panza, some with a squarred base and others with a circular base. Many of these towers can be observed still now and are mainly private houses. The “Torrione”, after it had been  restored, became a municipal Museum, on the lower floor, while the upper floor was the house of the artist Giovanni Maltese from Forio and is now an art gallery hosting  his  pictures and  sculptures collection.