Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples. The roughly trapezoidal island lies 17.5 miles from Naples and measures around 10 km East to West and 7 km North to South with a 34 km coastline and a surface area of 46.3 km². It is almost entirely mountainous with the highest peak being volcanic Mt. Epomeo at 788 meters: the volcano was active in Classical times [1].

It has a population of nearly 58,000 people. Ischia is also the principal city (pop.17,256) of the island, divided into Ischia Ponte and Ischia Porto.

The main industry is tourism, centering on thermal parks that cater mostly to European and Asian tourist clients eager to enjoy the fruits of the island's natural volcanic activity and highly nutritious volcanic mud.

The name Virgil poetically referred to it as Inarime and still later as Arime[2] Martianus Capella followed Virgil in this allusive name, which was never in common circulation: the Romans called it Aenaria, the Greeks, Pithekoussai [3]. "Pliny rightly derives the Greek name from the local ceramic clay deposits, not from pithekos (ape); he explains the Latin name as connected with Aeneas' beach-head" (Princeton Encyclopedia)

The current name appears for the first time in a letter from Pope Leo III to Charlemagne in 813 (iscla from insula) though there is an argument made for a Semitic origin in I-schra, "black island". [edit] History [edit] Ancient times An acropolis site of the Monte Vico area was inhabited from the Bronze Age, as Mycenaean and Iron Age pottery attest. Euboean Greeks from Eretria and Chalkis arrived in the 8th century BC to establish an emporium for trade with the Etruscans of the mainland.

Because of its fine harbor, the settlement of Pithecusae became successful through trade in iron and with mainland Italy; at its peak, Pithecusae was home to about 10,000 people.

The ceramic Euboean artifact inscribed with a reference to "Nestor's cup" was discovered in a grave on the island in 1953. Engraved upon the cup are a few lines written in the Cumae alphabet. Dating from c. 730 BC, it is the oldest written reference to the Iliad and may be the earliest extant precursor to the Latin alphabet. In the sixth century the earliest Greek colony on the mainland was founded from here, on the coast of Campania at Cumae, likely to have been named for the Euboean city of Cuma, possibly by settlers who fled volcanic activity. In 474 BC Hiero I of Syracuse came to the aid of the Cumaeans against the Etruscans and defeated them on the sea. He occupied Ischia and the surrounding Parthenopean islands and left behind a garrison to build a fortress before the city of Ischia itself.

This was still extant in the Middle Ages, but the original garrison fled before the eruptions of 470 BC and the island was taken over by Neapolitans. The Romans seized Ischia (and Naples) in 322 BC. Main sights Villa La Colombaia (Lacco Ameno - Forio) The Villa, surrounded by a park, was made by Luigi Patalano famous local socialist giornalist. It is now the seat of the cultural Institution dedicated to Visconti, which is involved in cultural activities promotion such as music, cinema, theatre, art exhibitions, work-shops, cinema reviews. A museum dedicated to Luchino Visconti. The Villa and the Park are accessible to public visits.

La Mortella Gardens (Forio - San Francesco) This park is located at Forio d’Ischia and was originally the property of the English composer William Walton, who lived in the Villa next door with his Argentinian wife, Susanna, and who died here in 1983. When the composer arrived on the island in 1946, he immediately called a botanical expert from England to lay out the garden, planting wonderful tropical and Mediterranean plants, some of which have now reached amazing proportions.

The gardens include wonderful views over the city and harbour of Forio. A museum dedicated to the life and work of William Walton now comprises part of the garden complex. Aragonese Castle (Ischia Ponte) It's built in 474 b. C. on a rock near the island, by Gerone. At the same time, two towers were built to control enemy fleet’s movements.

The rock was then occupied by Partenopei (the ancient inhabitants of Naples). In 326 a. C. the fortress was captured by Romans, and then again by Partenopei. Alfonso of Aragon in 1441 d.c. connected the rock to the island through a stone bridge instead of a previous wood bridge, and wanted the walls were fortified in order to defend the inhabitants against the raids of pirates. About in 1700 on the islet, used to live about 2000 families, there was a larisses Convent, the Abbey of Basilians from Greece, the Bishop and the Seminar, the Prince with a military garrison. On the same rock there were 13 churches. In 1912, the Castle was sold to a private owner. Today the Castle is the most visited monument of the island. You can access the Castle through a tunnel with large openings which let the light enter. Along the tunnel there is a small chapel consacrated to San Giovan Giuseppe della Croce, the patron saint of the island. Alternatively, a more comfortable access is possible by a modern lift. After arriving outside, it is possible to visit the Church of the Immacolata and the Cathedral of Assunta. The first was built in 1737 at the same place where there was a small chapel dedicated to Saint Francis, and closed after the suppression of Convents in 1806 as well as the Nunnery of Clarisses.