When I mentioned to anyone that i was going to Procida, the response was ‘Where is that?’  It was the 2022 Italian Capital of Culture, but still not well known outside of Italia.  Procida (pronounced PRO·cheedah) is one of the Flegrean Islands off the coast of Napoli and is part of the city of Napoli.  It was created by the eruption of 4 volcanoes, which are now submerged and dormant.   Overshadowed by its sexier neighbours Capri and Ischia, Procida is the least visited of the 3 islands.  It has a tiny area of 4.1 km², but with a population of 11,000, Procida is one of the most populated Italian islands. It is still mainly a fisherman’s island, a living, working place where real people live.  The main industries on the island are the port and fishing. Tourism is #3.

Procida has a laid-back, slow travel vibe-even in the most popular areas. You will not find any resorts, fancy spas or tour groups and the shops cater more to locals, closing for ‘la pausa pranzo’ from 1-5 pm.  Even finding somewhere to buy a few souvenirs was hard! In the summer and on weekends, many of the visitors to Procida are Napoletani going to the beach.

Procida has been featured in movies, most notably the beautiful, multi award winning 1994 film Il Postino and the 1999 psychological thriller The Talented Mr Ripley. Both films were set in the 1950’s-60’s.  In the 1963 Elizabeth Taylor/Richard Burton film Cleopatra, Procida -with the baroque duomo clearly in the background-was briefly featured as the ancient city of Tarsus where Cleo’s barge arrived to meet Marc Antony.  There are signs posted at various filming locations on the island.

Marina Grande is the main port where ferries (traghetti) and hydrofoils (aliscafi) arrive. Here you will find sorbetto coloured buildings, the main bus stop and ferry terminal, several restaurants and bars, a gluten free bakery Il Piccolo Forno Senza Glutine, and ONE gift/souvenir shop.

A 20 minute uphill walk from Marina Grande to the other side of the island (~20 min) brings you to the most visited area.  Walking uphill towards Terra Murata is the spectacular view of Marina di Corricella with its limoncello and pink grapefruit coloured 17th century fisherman’s houses and the duomo of Santa Maria delle Grazie Incoronata.  I found Marina Grande colourful and cute, but nothing compared to this view.  The walk is steep, but if mobility is an issue the C2 bus stops here.

Terra Murata (walled land) the highest and oldest part of Procida, is a fortified medieval village at the top of the island.  Abbazia San Michele Archangelo is an 11^th Century Benedictine Abbey turned into a church.  Palazzo d’Avalos built in 1563 became a prison in the 1800’s until it closed down in 1988.  Tours of the prison (€13,) need to be booked at least 2 days in advance so I was not able to go. The roof has sweeping views of the entire Bay of Napoli, including Ischia, Capri and the Amalfi coast.  Check out John’s blog post about the prison  for more information.  The 15^th Century Santa Margherita Nuova monastery was under renovation, so I was not able to see that either.  The postcard views from up here are absolutely mozzafiato-breathtaking!  A friend asked me how I took the cover photo over Marina di Corricella. ‘Hai volato?’  Did you fly over it?

The walk down to Marina di Corricella (Kor·ree·CHEL·lah) with houses built on top of each other, is steep and looks lived in with plants and laundry hanging out to dry.  Some typical features of Procidano architecture, besides the pastel colours, include exterior staircases and arched windows.  This area is completely vehicle free.

The marina is a full working harbour with colourful fishing boats, and fishermen with their nets.  There are several restaurants, bars and gelaterie.  I enjoyed a limoncello spritz and taralli while watching the fishing boats.  La Locanda del Postino is a restaurant where Mario, il Postino, sat to write poetry to Beatrice in the movie.  Some fishing boats offer a ‘giro dell’isola’ from here.  Terra Murata can be seen from  the Marina below.Chiaiolella (Kyay·oh·LEL·lah) on the West tip of the island is the area where I stayed.  Spiaggia Chiaiolella is a dark volcanic sand beach with warm, shallow water and amazing sunsets.  At the end of the beach is a long walking bridge to Vivara, a tiny green satellite island and nature reserve. Ischia is seen past Vivara in the photo.Around the corner is Marina di Chiaiolella, full of boats and seafood restaurants.  I enjoyed a delicious, reasonably priced seafood meal with a glass of Falanghina at Crescenzo.  The walk back up to the hotel is up a narrow street lined with useful stuff like small supermercati, shops carrying   beach essentials, a Tabacchino and a few takeout restaurants.  There is also a gorgeous jewellery store and a linen shop where I bought Franco a coppola.

There are 4 other beaches on Procida.  Spiaggia Cala del Pozzo Vecchio is the one where Il Postino was filmed.  I will have to go there on my next visit.  The beaches   all have black volcanic sand, except for the small beach by the port, La Lingua which is rocky.

Procida can only be accessed by sea. Unless you have a private boat, that means by ferry or hydrofoil from Napoli, Pozzuoli or Ischia. Napoli to Procida is 1 hour by ferry and 40 min by hydrofoil.  Ischia is 20 min away by hydrofoil-the same boat stops at both islands.  From Napoli the hydrofoil cost me €19 to go and €18 to return.  The ferry is about €15.
Procida can be a daytrip from Napoli or Ischia, but I would recommend staying overnight if you can.  The sunsets are worth it! **Note that from November to March there are less ferries running and some restaurants and hotels are closed.

From April until October, only residents of Procida are allowed to bring cars onto the island.  Scooters, bicycles and ebikes are available for rent.  4 minibuses cross the island; from the port to Chiaiolella (L1 and L2), Corricella (C2) and Il Postino Beach (C1).  Tickets are €1.60 each, or get a daypass and use it like a ‘hop on/hop off’ bus.  These buses go fast and the streets are only about 8 inches wider than the bus!  In the mornings, you may have to wait for a few buses, as they are full of people going to the beach and going to work.  Even the motorini and bikes go fast, so crossing the narrow streets can be a challenge.  Everyone is in a hurry to get to the beach and drives like they are in Napoli!

A bit about my trip….. I was in Procida with my cugina Maria from Ontario August 8th and 9th.  It was not a weekend.  We took the 7 am bus from Orsara di Puglia to Foggia, then the bus from Foggia to Napoli.  In Napoli, we took the metro from Stazione Garibaldi to Municipio and walked the short distance to Porto Molo Beverello where we took the hydrofoil to Procida.  Quite the trek to get there!  We did not book the ferry in advance.  We arrived at our hotel at about 2:30 pm. I booked the hotel only 2 weeks in advance.  Ideally, we wanted to stay 2 nights at Hotel La Casa sul Mare which is near Santa Maria delle Grazie in Marina Corricella, but they only accept summer reservations for a 3 night minimum stay.  I booked Hotel Riviera which was only available for 1 night, so we spent the second night in Napoli.  Hotel Riviera was absolutely lovely-right at the bus stop and walking distance to Spiaggia Chiaiolella.  We were pleasantly surprised that our room had a balcony with a view of Marina Chiaiolella, Vivara and Ischia!  This is where I sat to write all of these notes while drinking €1.60 red wine and watching the sunset!

Buon viaggio, Cristina