CASAMICCIOLA TERME

The Municipality of Casamicciola Terme is famous for its thermal waters, and many important schools are situated here.
It also has a large tourist commercial port – still incomplete – which will prove to be an alternative to Ischia Porto.
Covering an area of 5,60 square kilometres it has a population of 7,000 residents and its highest point reaches 327 metres.
Casamicciola Terme includes the villages of Maio, Gran Sentinella, Bagni, Marina and Perrone.

COUNTRYSIDE:
Casamicciola is also sea, with a long sea front promenade stretching from Perrone across the town to Lacco Ameno.
The port is formed by one long quayside at which car ferries berth.
Small seaplanes which connect the island to the continent also land nearby.

ENVIRONMENT:
The name from Casamicciola derive from Nìsola House, named after an old Matron eritrese, Nisola, who due to infirmity, was abandoned here by finding the healing thermal waters of the City. More from Casamice ie place of mushrooms, some by House insula. In 1956, in reason of the abundance of its hot springs took the name Terme.
The town of Casamicciola Terme is located in the northern island of Ischia. From the historical point of view represents the municipality on the island’s oldest tourist attractions.
Originally appeal to tourists coming from the presence of many sources of thermal water, that the exploit casamicciolesi wisely since time immemorial.
Until the late nineteenth century the main center of the country, where they were at almost all of the spa and hotel, was located on the hillside.
An important focus was located in the square Piazza Bagni and surrounding areas, but most of the hotels was located between the town square Sentinella and Maio, who was also the seat of the parish and the main square.
After the disastrous earthquake of 1883 that virtually destroyed the town, the center was moved to the bottom. In this area, in fact, two neighborhoods were built, mainly composed of huts, shelters for the homeless. An additional ward was built in the town of Perrone. This shift from the upper to the lower village, also entailed the shifting of the center, which still remains around Piazza Marina.
Tourism in Casamicciola origin was thus essentially linked to the presence of thermal balneotherapy establishments that until the Sixties were the island’s most famous and perhaps the whole Campania. The spa town par excellence was the Pio Monte della Misericordia, founded in 1610.
Originally located near Piazza Bagni, was rebuilt by the sea after the earthquake. This charitable institution has provided for many centuries, the benefits of spa treatments to the poor Neapolitans, who could be receiving free care, in addition to spa treatments, meals and lodging for a period of 15 days per person. The structure, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1883, was active until the late sixties and eventually fell into disuse, remaining in a state of total abandonment facing today.
It is now only ruins visible when you arrive at the port. Another traditional activity of the inhabitants of Ischia was agriculture, gradually supplanted by tourism.
The loss of agricultural land has in fact coincided with the start of mass tourism that began in the sixties and never stopped in its chaotic development. This development has affected the whole island and farmland have been gradually supplanted by villas, hotels, guest houses and second homes, reducing to a minimum even cultivated areas.

NOT TO BE MISSED

Culture, Art and More
GEOPHYSICS OBSERVATORY (Village of Sentinella)
Earthquake measuring instruments including a seismic bath created by scientist Giulio Grablovitz in 19th century. To book a viewing appointment telephone 081/996163 office hours.

PIAZZA MARINA
Economic and social centre of the town.
Monument to the Fallen and a statue of King Victor Emanuel II, plaque dedicated to the memory of Henrik Ibsen the Norwegian writer who wrote Peer Gynt.

PARISH CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA MADDALENA
Built in 1896 by parish priest Giuseppe Morgera, in which he is buried. High altar built in 16. Statue of the Madonna given to the church by Francesco II of Bourbon.

PIAZZA BAGNI
Near the thermal basin of Gurgitello, Piazza Bagni is at the centre of many thermal establishments, there is also a small chapel to St.Francis.

GEOPHYSICS OBSERVATORY
Towards the end of the 19th century Father Barnabita Denza created a geophysics institution, located in his Parish Church at Piazza Maia, Casamicciola.
Giulio Grablovitz superseded this when in 1902 he inaugurated a Geophysics Observatory. In 1940 the Italian State began to take an interest in this project and refitted the Observatory but unfortunately over the years it has bee used as a sort of archival library conserving valuable information on the island’s climate.
Despite many attempts and various committees the Observatory is still not used to its full capacity; as a Geophysics centre dealing with meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, seismology, volcanology, magnetism, radioactivity and geodesy, which would attract both scientists and tourists alike.