An hour into our journey from Naples to Ischia, the ferry pulled into the harbour of Procida. I was treated to the magical vista of the late afternoon sun slanted over a row of colourful houses that reminded me of a Neapolitan ice cream of strawberry, vanilla, chocolate! Such delicious views ensured that Procida became part of the itinerary of our Ischia break!
We took the short ferry crossing of about 25 minutes for a day in Procida. The entire island has an area of only 1.6 square miles so it’s not difficult to explore the island on foot. Saying that, we confined ourselves to the eastern side of the island, over the hill to the southern side of the island where the stunning Marina di Corricella awaited.
Porto di marina grande & Porto turistico marina di Procida
The ferries from Naples and Ischia dock at Porto di marina grande which is the busiest place on the island, but never overly so. The waterfront has lots of bars, restaurants and shops of all kinds to watch the world go by.
Further to the east along Via Roma, lined with buildings of delicate pastel colours, there’s Porto turistico marina di Procida. Here is where yachts and other sailing crafts are moored.
Chiesa Parrocchiale di Maria SS. della Pietà e di S. Giovanni Battista
This church is known by the shorter name of fishermen’s church by the locals. It dominates the waterfront and is visible from afar.
Getting to the southern side
To get to the southern side of the island we had to walk up steep narrow cobblestone paths used by pedestrians and 2-way traffic. I lost counts of the times I had to stop and lean against the wall to let vans and buses go pass!
Santuario S. Maria delle Grazie Incoronata
Finally at the end of what seemed like an endless upward path, we reached Pizza dei Martitri where Santuario S. Maria delle Grazie Incoronata is situated. This 17th century church is unmissable and is an essential part of the Procida skyline.
Terra Murata
Continuing on the upward path to the right of the church, we soon arrived at Terra Murata. It’s a fortified medieval village built on the highest point of the island at 90m above sea level.
The main building in Terra Murata is Palazzo d’Avalos. It was built in 1563 and turned into a prison in the 1800s. It is now derelict alongside what looks like an abandoned hotel. The 2 cannons on the site are said to be from a British ship during the Neapolitan Republic of 1799.
Marina di Corricella
Just a look at this vista of the historical fishing village Marina di Corricella from the vantage point at Terra Murata more than compensated for the climb to get there!
We negotiated some very steep winding steps down to the marina itself but it was so worth it!!
By this time it was near lunch time. We found this restaurant – La Lampara – when we reached the harbour. We were given a table by the railings, overlooking the beautiful harbour and made our orders before the restaurant started filling up! What a way to feast our eyes whilst enjoying a lovely long lunch!
Views from our table at La Lampara
Due to renovation work, part of the waterfront was closed. We had to go through narrow streets to get back on to the path for the ferry port. The views from the other side of the harbour were just as stunning! It’s said that the houses were painted in such vivid colours so that fishermen returning from a day’s work could easily identify their homes.
We had time to amble around the ferry port a bit and had a cappuccino at a waterfront Cafe before catching our ferry back to Ischia. Here’re my souvenirs of a wonderful day!
