Easter, the awakening of the senses in Ischia
The awakening of the senses coincides with the festival of resurrection: on the island, amid age-old traditions and wellness trails, make way for picnics on the beach or in the woods. To breathe spring air
A feast of resurrection, a rite of spring: Easter, in Ischia, is a metaphor for the island’s awakening, accompanying its quiver of energy that runs through woods and paths and, above all, repopulating its beaches, accompanying the first swims in the sea, repainting flower beds and terraces.
The five senses triumph: sight is intoxicated with wonder, no less are the scents of wisteria, the chirping of birds, and the exaltation of taste, which finds fulfillment in the recipes of tradition and seasonality.
Unmissable experiences on Easter weekend in Ischia
Easter in Ischia means, therefore, letting yourself be won over by trekking itineraries, from the village of Campagnano, which guards the island’s peasant soul, to the ascent to Mount Epomeo. These are ideal days to explore the hinterland, to be fascinated by the La Mortella Gardens (which reopen to the public just on Saturday, March 30) but also for a spa wellness journey: many of the newly reopened hotels offer wellness, mud therapy and day spa solutions. Sorgeto’s fumaroles are an invitation (irresistible, of course) to a rejuvenating bath in the warm water of the bay on the southwestern side of the island, a true “unicum.”
Easter traditions and folklore in Ischia
Easter is also accompanied, on Ischia, by a series of rituals, some of them centuries old, that interpret the faith of the islanders and give those who wish to witness them the privilege of a unique experience.
From the heart of the village of Ischia Ponte, from the Church of the Holy Spirit, the Decanal Way of the Cross starts on Good Friday at 8 p.m., a route that marks the stages of Christ’s martyrdom by passing through the center of Ischia and ending at the Church of St. Peter.
In Forio, the Passion of Christ is staged on the same day by the Actus Tragicus association: the epilogue takes place in the evocative setting of the Piazzale del Soccorso, dominated by the snow-white church of Santa Maria della Neve.
Among the most pathos-laden celebrations is the so-called Angel Run, which enlivens Easter morning in the center of Forio, traversed by four statues carried on the shoulders, running, by devotees: they are those of the Madonna, the angel announcing her resurrection, St. John and Jesus. A similar ritual takes place, on the same morning, in Lacco Ameno, along the Corso.
The Easter picnic
Bagged bean, a bridge between the past and the future
From the sacred to the profane, seamlessly. Monday in Albis is the day dedicated to picnics: Easter Monday in Ischia is, par excellence, to be spent open air, on the beach or among the island’s pine forests and woods, from Falanga to Cretaio. Packed picnic-style breakfast or at a restaurant: the important thing is to move early in the morning, even better if using public transportation, and rediscover a harmonious relationship with nature, with full respect for ecosystems and in search of glimpses of absolute beauty. For a social Easter in every sense of the word.
Bunting bean, heritage of Ischia's biodiversity
One eye on tradition, the other on taste. Because there is mouth-watering. Land and sea coming together, as is often the case in Ischia. At Easter, the former seems to have favored paths. And if on Maundy Thursday, as happens throughout Neapolitan culture, there is room on restaurant menus for mussel soup, in which cafone bread is invariably dipped, all accompanied by a Biancolella or a Forastera, at Easter there is room for more earthy cuisine. Which has in the fellata, the interminable traditional centerpiece appetizer, its “must”: fava beans and country bacon, hard-boiled eggs, with the shells strictly dyed bright red (it is done with rubia, ‘a rov in dialect), a root that is found in large quantities in the island’s countryside, salted ricotta. And so on.
Then there is casatiello, a tasty savory doughnut stuffed with cured meats and cheeses, and its cousin tortano, with a smooth crust. A triumph of the savory counterbalanced by the undisputed queen of desserts, the pastiera: a short pastry base filled with ricotta cheese, sugar, eggs, and wheat, flavored with various spices and herbs. A treat, which tastes like spring.
