History of Ischia Harbour (Southern Italy)

Abstract

The port constituted the fundamental marine transporation element connecting the island and the mainland, providing easier access to the island and promoting the progressive growth of the local economy. At the time, Ischia showed great diversity between one zone and another, and much of the island was almost inaccessible and sparsely inhabited. Noted for its active volcanism from the early fourteenth century and persistent seismicity until 1883, “before 1853 this island was almost impracticable, … to the detriment of many natural advantages that it has over others, it had a wild appearance, to say the least” (Annali Civili del Regno delle Due Sicilie—Annals of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 1855).