Procida

Not many places to sit and wait

A jump in the past... Romantic and full of restaurants.. seafood restaurants of course.

Fantastic island. Must go

The pretty island of Procida near Naples has some of the most colorful houses in Italy, yet surprisingly it is still a hidden gem. Procida lies 23 km off the coast of Naples. Ferries from Naples to Procida leave from two piers: Molo Beverello and Porta di Massa. The regular hydrofoil and ferry service for Naples Procida is available. The crossing by hydrofoil isn’t super cheap, my return ticket was around £30; passenger ferry which costs a little less has a longer journey time of one hour, ten minutes. Procida is the smallest island in the bay of Naples, not far from its more glitzy siblings, Capri and Ischia. These two are well-known on the tourist trail and up-scale Capri in particular is often packed with visitors, but in contrast Procida has a more low-key vibe. It’s a narrow little island less than two square miles in size and traditionally has supported fishermen and boat builders. Surprisingly it has a population of 10,000 although I didn’t see them on my weekday visit! Stepping off the hydrofoil at Marina Grande felt like entering an earlier decade. After the hustle of Naples the harbour was peaceful, with just the bong of the church bells and a few men mending fishing nets in open doorways. I passed craft shops, bars and restaurants amongst a cluster of pastel coloured buildings. My plan was to head straight to the fishing village of Corricella which is about 15 minutes walk from the harbour. So I took the path uphill from the lovely lemon-toned church of Santa Maria della Pieta. The roads are narrow, no pavements, and hardly any traffic apart from the occasional small car or scooter. At the crossroads is another beautifully baroque church, Santa Maria Delle Grazie. It stands in the Martyr’s Square which has a tragic story that’s at odds with its peaceful surroundings. From the square I turned up towards Terra Murata, the fortified medieval stronghold at the highest and northern most tip of the island. Terra Murata, meaning walled land, is a forbidding looking place from the sea. Just as well really, as this fortified enclave kept the people of Procida safe from marauders and pirates for centuries. More recently its palazzo became a prison, although it’s abandoned now. It’s a bit of an uphill slog but it is also the place to catch the first glimpses of ridiculously pretty Corricella. Two cannon, left over from the turbulent times of the Neapolitan Republic, stand on a terrace that overlooks the bay and the village of Corricella. The little village of Corricella is a near-vertical warren of sorbet-coloured houses which pack tightly around the harbour. So tight in fact that there are no roads to the water’s edge just a zig-zag of scalatinelli (staircase streets), to get in and out of the village. It’s the oldest fishing village on the island, dating from the seventeenth century. There are one or two small hotels and B & Bs in this part of Procida but otherwise it’s a sleepy little place with piles of fishing accoutrements heaped on the quay. The only clues to its popularity were occasional ice-cream signs and one or two sleek day boats moored alongside the fishing nets. It wasn’t immediately obvious where to get a cup of coffee. Procida may be busy at the weekends but Corricella was resolutely off tourist duty on a September weekday. I found one little place open and sat with drinks and almond pastries alongside the fishing boats. Then I walked south out of town along a little road, passing iron balconies, grand gateposts, an old farmacia and swathes of bourgainvillea. At the first sign to ‘Spiaggia’ I turned down a pathway to an iron staircase that brought me down to a dark sand beach with a kiosk and beds and umbrellas to hire. But in the distance, further along the bay, I could see the beach restaurant I was searching for. La Conchiglia looks like a vintage railway carriage from the distance. It has huge windows thrown open to the sea and a cluster of beach umbrellas and beds to hire. I quickly booked a lunch table by a window then picked my beach beds and hopped in the sea. The day was joyful.

Pretty and quiet little town. Everyone was very friendly. We stayed at Casa sole Mare and enjoyed a fantastic view. They also had a nice breakfast and coffee included. The town is a little slow in March as its not quite in season yet.

The island looks lovely from the ferry.

you can spen one day or stay all week ?? quiet place

A little stunningly beautiful gem close to Naples. Not crowded and not over priced. Worth a visit