ischia island

The Story

The long history of the green island

The island of Ischia was the first Greek colony in the West, in fact in the 8th century B.C. Greek colonists from Euboea colonized Lacco Ameno, founding the city of Pithecusa.

Major archaeological excavations conducted in the 1950s and 1960s by German archaeologist Buchner unearthed the city and its artifacts, most of which are housed at Villa Arbusto in the Pitecusae Archaeological Museum.

During the Middle Ages with the arrival and settlement of the Lombards in Italy, the island became part, with the duchies of Gaeta, Naples, Amalfi and Sorrento, of the extreme periphery of the Byzantine Empire. In 661, the island had its own governor with the title of Count, reporting directly to the Duchy of Naples. In the 9th century, the island suffered continuous and repeated Saracen raids. Meanwhile, most Ischitan families had moved to the Castle of Ischia, rightly considered a safe place.

In the 13th century Ischia became part of the Angevin kingdom. Later during the Aragonese-Angevin conflict the island and the castle were the scene of clashes. In 1438, Alfonso of Aragon conquered the castle.
He became king and gave the island to his favorite, the beautiful Lucrezia d’Alagno of Torre del Greco. Alfonso granted many favors, “privileges,” to the people of Ischia, including ownership of half a mile of sea with beaches, shores and headlands; he exempted them from all kinds of taxes and also granted privileges of a jurisdictional, ecclesiastical and honorific order.

In the 1500s The “superb rock,” the castle, became the sojourn of “great captains” and Vittoria Colonna, who went to marry on the castle to Francesco Ferrante d’Avalos. During the War of the Spanish Succession Ischia came under Austrian rule and in 1734 under Bourbon rule with Charles III.

In Casamicciola, the Bourbons opened the beautiful Ferdinandea road (today Princess Margherita), the Maria Teresa road (today Via Garibaldi), and the Strada Regia, today known as the Bourbon road.

In 1860 the unification of Italy opened quieter times for Ischia, and the island became one of the major seaside resorts in southern Italy and a destination for spa vacations.

Garibaldi

The famous hero of two worlds, Giuseppe Garibaldi, was one of the most illustrious figures that the spa town of Casamicciola has hosted over the centuries. Garibaldi landed on the island on June 19, 1864 on the Duke of Sutherland’s yacht “Undine,” which had accompanied him. Garibaldi was together with a large retinue consisting of family members, friends and two doctors, who had been treating him, Albanese and Basile. Garibaldi after a day spent at Villa Manzi, moved with his retinue to the Hotel “BelleVue” today Villa Parodi, which is located next to our hotel – and like our hotel enjoys a splendid view of Casamicciola. Today Villa Parodi is a private residence of an important Roman patrician family, in it is still preserved intact the room that hosted Garibaldi. The thermal waters of Casamicciola were a valuable medicine for the general, who found much benefit from the thermal baths and mud baths. Meanwhile, the news that Garibaldi was on vacation on the island of Ischia leapt to national headlines, all the newspapers of the time reporting details of the hero’s Ischian days. A bit like what happens even now when, mutatis mutandis, VIPs and celebrities come on vacation to our island.