Aragonese Castle, Ischia

At the northern end of the Bay of Naples is the lovely island of Ischia, one of Italy's many seaside playgrounds. Off the coast of Ischia is an even smaller island, -- the insula minor, it was called, in contrast to the insula major -- a steep rock that has proved to be a perfect spot for fortifications intended to control traffic into the bay.

The first known fortifications were built by the tyrant Hiero I of Syracuse in 474 BCE. Hiero was a flamboyant leader best known for leading the Greeks of southern Italy to victory over the Etruscans at the Battle of Cumae. "The King of Syracuse who delights in horses," Pindar called him in his first Olympian Ode.

The Romans captured the island in 326 BCE, lost it, and then took it again.

Most of what you see today was built by the Aragonese or the dynasty they installed in Naples, between the 14th and 17th centuries. The stone bridge to the mainland of Ischia was built in 1441 Alfonso V of Aragon.

Besides the castle itself, the islet was home in the Renaissance to a nunnery, a Basilian monastery -- Greek Catholics -- twelve churches, and numerous chapels.

The lovely website of a hotel within the castle says this about the little island:

When climbing up the Castle, in fact, you discover another world. The austere and closed aspect one beholds from the ground gives way to a citadel made up of sunny gardens and small tracks that always lead to incredible views. The Castle top smiles, animated by sea birds and big cats, olive groves and vineyards. In spite of its reputation, the Castle has today a heart that can be conquered by everybody who climbs its 113 metres by foot or by elevator. But only when you are on the top can you enter Ischia’s history. Cocooned in the mystery of time, you will find the 16th-century cathedrals and churches, frescoed catacombs, arches and vaults, walls of many centuries, Bourbon prisons. The silence of the Castle speaks with words in the shape of architecture, like a giant stone book to leaf through with no hurry.

Truly a beautiful place.