Aragonese Castle

The Castello Aragonese rises from a volcanic trachyte rock off the eastern shore of Ischia, linked to the old town of Ischia Ponte by a 200-metre stone causeway. Its foundations date back to a Greek fortification of the 5th century BC, but the castle took its current form in 1442 when Alfonso I of Aragon comprehensively rebuilt and modernised it. For centuries the island fortress was a self-contained settlement — churches, a convent, houses and at times up to 1,800 families lived within its walls. Today most of that world stands in ruin: a crumbling convent, a crypt where mummified nuns once sat in open niches, and silent alleys create the atmosphere of an extinguished parallel society. The climb to the top — via steep staircases or a rock-cut lift — rewards with wide views across the Bay of Naples and Vesuvius.