What should I say about Ischia… I leave bewitched by its people, its accent, its Bay of Cartaromana, its rough mountain and its agricultural land terracing still quite cultivated, mostly with grapes.
An incredible welcome it was, designed by the deus ex machina Luciana Morgera!
Thank you very much to Simone Verde for being the perfect guide with wisdom and kindness and for taking me through the traffic, alas, of the 70000 souls and 6 municipalities of the island.
To Nino from Ischia Corbaro Park, overflowing of energy and passion for its goats and guests who he cuddles with his delicious cuisine (to me he offered a couple of glasses of white wine and a goat ricotta tart at 10 in the morning!).
To the precious sisters Francesca Jantò Castagna and Martina Jantò Castagna, champions of reception and passion for Ischia from the top of the Paradise Relais Villa Jantò – Ischia, a true paradise created from the rubble of the 21st August, 2017 earthquake.
Thank you, Luciana Cervera, from the old and delicious Taverna Antonio Ischia, for the food, the wine, and the stories.
And then to the legendary, unreachable, unforgettable Cenzino Di Meglio (and to Laura, his future wife, who cooked me a proper and exquisite “Coniglio all’ischitana”), whose name is actually Pietro, whose good spirits with that campanian accent have bewitched me. And who moved me explaining me all about the Festa A Mare Negli Scogli Di Sant’anna, of which he is the artistic director. He is also the artistic director of the Teatro Polifunzionale Ischia, a reality deserving the deepest respect for the tenacity with which it was conceived and for the quality of the experimental projects that it carries on, necessary to defeat the talk/reality show shitty “culture” that sedate the youngest – and not only – generations. And thanks also to Enzo and Luigi from the theatre, who told me the details with so much light in their eyes.
And thanks very much to Francesco Buono from the Lega Navale Isola d’Ischia for the hospitality in the absurd and charming port of Ischia, a former volcanic lake suffering from high water like Venice, and for the chat inside a former wine bottling room.
Thank you too, one more time, Dario Della Vecchia for the most appreciated hospitality at Hotel Villa Maria*** – Ischia.
And finally Pasquale Raicaldo, Miro Iacono and all those I’ve surely forgotten!
And now we turn the page, in this silent dawn, and the bow is pointed to Ventotene!
Posted on: 18.May.2018 Leave a comment
