PROCIDA

A large sign proclaimed to the world—Home of Il Postino—as  our aliscafi landed at the beach.  We had taken this hydrofoil from Ischia, where we were spending a few days.  We had discovered an untouched jewel, Procida, in the Gulf of Naples.

Immediately upon debarking, we met Donato, a cabdriver and tour guide. We agreed to let him take us everywhere on this interesting island.  I asked about Il Postino, the Italian movie which had been nominated  for an Academy Award in the USA.  We had viewed it just before our trip to Italy. Donato said he would show us the place where it was filmed.  I thought it was the town with the port where we had just landed. But he said no, it was on the other side of the island.

Donato drove us straight there, a very short distance.  We climbed up some ramparts in the car.  My eyes beheld one of the most exquisite views I have ever seen.  On our map the place was called Corricella but Donato said its name was Pescatore.  He gave me time to take many pictures as I am a photography nut.

Ascending further on the same road, we passed the Castillo Aragonese, which was used as a prison in bygone days.  It is boarded up now and not being used for any purpose.  The town people all agree that they would rather have prisoners than waves of tourists destroying the ambience of their peaceful island.

The road twisted and turned as we kept on climbing until we reached the Abbey of San Michele. Built in the 11th c., the Abbey-church had a chapel dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. Inside, we beheld a life-size statue of St. Michael, made completely of silver.  He is the patron saint of the island. 

On his feast day, this statue is paraded all over the island.  At the main altar there were beautiful bouquets of Easter lilies and pink roses, left over from a wedding. 

Donato called us outside on a balcony where he told us the view was  Spettaculare.  The whole bay of Naples presented itself to us with excellent views of Mt. Vesuvius and Capri.

Next, we crossed the length of the island on a flat inland road, with high walls and no sidewalks. Donato started expounding, as he often did about everything on his beloved island.  This time he exclaimed that the whole island was a garden, mostly made up of lemon and orange trees.  He stopped the car and picked some lemon branches for me to smell their aroma. They were in full bloom so I could appreciate the wonderful fragrance it gave off.

At the end of the island we came upon Chiaiolella, which Donato called the touristic port.  Only private leisure craft were docked there.  On this tiny island you find three distinct port areas—a  port for big ships and ferries, a fisherman's port and a tourist port. 

We could see the tiny islet of Vivara joined to Procida by a foot bridge.  It is now a bird sanctuary.  Further on, we could see Mt. Epomea on the nearby island of Ischia.  Also, Donato pointed out three Aragonese Towers, which are no longer in use.

On our return, we stopped to look at some palatial villas behind wrought-iron gates.  They seemed out of place here in such a picturesque, somewhat backward place.  We also had some good views of the Castillo and Abbey.  We asked Donato to drop us off at Pescatore, rather than back at the port. We wanted to have more time to explore this lovely place on our own.  We had really enjoyed the trip with Donato.  There is nothing like being with someone who is so proud of his birthplace and loves it so much.

We had to climb down many steps before we came to Pescatore. Only one restaurant was open so we chose that one, of course.  We sat outside and ordered a bottle of local Procidan white wine. The name of the restaurant was Graziela. That was also the name of all the white wine.  And there's a story behind it.  Graziela was a girl who lived on the island in the 19th century.  The French author Lamartine visited the island.  Graziela fell in love with him and let him have his way with her. When he left, she fervently believed that he would come back.  He never did.  But he wrote a book about her called Graziela.

After lunch, we walked slowly up the stairs leading out of Pescatore, the same stairs that the beautiful girl star in Il Postino had climbed. We came which seemed to sum up Italy and the island for me—sex and religion.  With the sound of the women chanting the rosary in the background, a pedophile, big tomcat was forcing himself on a sweet, unwilling kitten!

We walked back to the port area.  My traveling companion brought three of the huggest lemons I'd ever seen.  I posed for pics.  Then it was time to take the boat back to Ischia.  What a wonderful day trip to this enchanting, unexplored bit of Eden.