In classical mythology, Procida, in Campania, is a flower fallen from Mount Epomeo on the nearby island of Ischia. Another legend says that inside the island hides the giant Typhon, who wanted to overthrow Jupiter but was instead thrown to the earth; the giant is now trapped under the basalt that imprisons him, shaking his 50 heads trying to free himself. Let’s see what to see in Procida.
Procida, Italian Capital of Culture 2022
1 Where Procida is Located
Geologically the island is linked to the Phlegraean Fields, the “burning fields” of the ancient Greeks, and rests on four extinct craters. Procida is a mystical, magical island, rich in folk culture and with a great tradition of seafaring art. Its history has been quite eventful. It was colonized by the Greeks from the Gulf of Naples, then by Chalcidian and Eretrian settlers, and in the Roman era it was attacked multiple times. Later, with its lord Giovanni da Procida, it played an important role in the War of the Sicilian Vespers between the Angevins and the Aragonese in the 13th century.
2 Procida in History
In the 16th century, Procida suffered repeated attacks by Saracen pirates, which crippled the economy and caused a sharp population decline. At that time, Procida counted fewer than 2000 inhabitants, all concentrated within the walls of the small Borgo Terra.
In 1799, during the Neapolitan revolution that established the Parthenopean Republic, declaring the Bourbon power deposed, Commodore Trowbridge and his English soldiers occupied the island and, by order of Nelson, suppressed the riots by killing 12 Procidani.
The late 19th century emigration overseas dealt another hard blow to the island’s economy. Young Procidani went elsewhere to seek work, emigrating to South America and the United States. Many sailors sought employment on foreign merchant ships, and few lucky ones remained in their homeland. All these events shaped the Procidani character to be gentle and at the same time brave, able to endure hardship and devoted to religion. On the island, violent crimes are very rare; its inhabitants tend to be reserved and are “islanders” nearly by choice.
3 Procida Today
Today Procida is a thriving and prosperous island, although this is not always apparent. Here all the men are skilled sailors and capable fishermen. They rely on the favor of the seasons for fishing, reading auspicious signals from the sky. Despite their perfect knowledge of their craft, they are cautious and do not risk more than necessary, as taught by their strong maritime culture. Meanwhile, shipowners and captains with large vessels brave oceans and storms to successfully complete their rich commercial expeditions.
In the 19th century, Procidani sailing ships roamed all seas and sailed as far as Australia. In Procida, many families own at least one ship, whose command is usually entrusted to the shipowners themselves. Thus, it becomes a family-run business where men aboard perform the seafaring work while women, on land, handle the management of the ship-business. For many months a year, contact between the crew and families occurs only via radio, and during rest periods when everyone is home, there are great celebrations.
4 Procida and the Palamiti Fishing Lines
It is said that some Procidani navigators, during their long journeys to the East, imported from China a secret recipe for treating fishing lines and nets. In Procida, two types of line are produced: one transparent and glossy, unique in Europe, and the other orange, traditional. With this line, fishermen set up their palamiti. These are complex systems for deep-sea fishing, often exceeding 500 meters in length and equipped with several thousand hooks.
5 The Procidani and the Sea
The Procidani live next to the sea and naturally live “from” the sea: and this made their wealth. Economic well-being led to a demographic increase, and today the island counts 2700 souls per km², one of the highest population densities on Earth. Life in Procida is peaceful, and among the sunny house walls, one enjoys family serenity; to the Procidani, family is very important, perhaps because of the forced separation caused by jobs at sea. Some houses are nestled among citrus groves and vineyards, or emerge between jasmines and fragrant plants; the island is a vast primitive Mediterranean scrub lying on ancient yellow and gray tuffs and volcanic basalts dating back millennia. Procida is a land of great charm.
6 Vivara, the Natural Reserve Island
At the island’s extreme tip lies Vivara. It is a small islet of just 34 hectares, connected to Procida by a bridge-aqueduct. Here, in a kind of phytoclimatic relic surviving the passage of time, coexist over 500 botanical species, including many specimens of holm oak and Quercus pubescens. The wild vegetation of this lush natural reserve, the rim of an open crater, is completed by prickly pear cactus and the poisonous yellow-flowered ferula.
In the 18th century, Vivara was one of many royal hunting reserves, governed by very strict rules. Here the King of Naples, Charles of Bourbon, established a rabbit breeding ground, a vivar. Today wild rabbits are still present and access rules remain strict, especially after recent archaeological excavations brought to light some important Mycenaean artifacts. Entry to the natural oasis is allowed only from May to October.
From the 109-meter summit of Vivara, the island of Procida appears flat as a sole fish, although the great Latin poet Virgil said “then with a roar Prochyta trembles high“. The highest points on the island are Olmo, at 51 meters, and Terra Murata, at 91 meters above sea level.
7 Borgo Terra
In the 16th century, the Borgo Terra was the island’s only urban center. Atop Terra Murata, perched above the sea, surrounded by walls and apart from the island’s daily life, stands the castle that belonged to the abbot of Procida, Cardinal Innico d’Avalos. From this position, one commands the channel that separates the island from the mainland. The castle was once a royal residence. Transformed into a maximum-security prison, it was later closed in the 1950s. Since then, the imposing structure has been abandoned.
8 The Corsair Barbarossa and the Pirates
Beaten by the winds of Libeccio and Tramontana, the castle was a privileged observation point for spotting Saracens and African barbarians who sowed terror and death across the Mediterranean with their raids. Legend tells that the corsair Khair-ad-din, better known as “Barbarossa,” in 1534 attempted an assault on Procida with his fast ships. But Saint Michael the Archangel appeared in the sky who, with his shining sword, surrounded the citadel with flames to protect it, and with thunderbolts drove off the feared Turkish pirate. Even today some old Procidani fishermen say they have seen chains and anchors thrown into the sea by pirates to escape faster. History, however, gives a different version of events. During the 1534 assault, around mid-August, the Muslims landed on the island and nearly destroyed it.
The Terra Murata district was looted and completely burned, pirates devastated crops and enslaved many inhabitants. Worse still was the raid in late June 1544, during which Barbarossa and his men captured about fifteen hundred people after burning houses, grain, and everything on their path. However, in 1627, the islanders, very devoted to Saint Michael, dedicated him a silver statue and named the Abbey in Terra Murata after him.
