The island of Ischia each year renews its traditions with religious celebrations that attract not only an Ischian audience but also many foreign tourists who visit it. To start the holiday season is the Immaculate Conception celebration that occurs on December 8th and usually represents a real long-weekend suitable to organize trips, holidays last minute, weekend floor door for the whole family, adults and children, so do not miss the opportunity to visit us!
Christmas is just around the corner, and the streets are decorated with lights and Christmas trees that will ‘brighten’ these cold winter days. Various events, exhibitions, festivals and Christmas markets will be organized. It is also an opportunity to take part in, on the Eve of the Immaculate, the all-night cultural festival with masses, hymns and religious functions, or to go to the cinema or theater.
Christmas is a magical time, especially in small everyday emotions, such as the arrival of the pipers, the scent of mandarin and Rococo, when in the evening homes or the basement to play bingo and tell jokes. Deep emotions on the Christmas Eve, when at three in the morning there are those who are still busy in preparing good things. The bells gather the people of the country. Even the owners of small businesses stay open by helping to make the squares so living and full of decorations. Admiring the starry ski, feeling cold on Christmas Eve, it is like admiring diamonds in the sky. Between exchanges of greetings, jokes and Christmas carols, people hope that the dawn to come later. After leaving the church after Mass, pasta and beans, bread and tomatoes and other recipes prepared by many housewives in the center, nothing remained. The streets were beginning to crowd of people, projecting the light of day to reality.
The crib, our history…
The crib represents for Ischia an ancient tradition. Everywhere it is possible to see the small masterpieces made with passion. Groups of people, adults and children united by their passion for the crib, since October, gather to create great works, open to the public for a theme tour around the island. Works that create a magical atmosphere to the streets of downtown, with colors and Christmas music, often confused with other sounds. It’s traditional that Campagnano returns with sounds, lights and colors. A crib set with over 250 characters dressed in nineteenth-century clothing. Atmosphere and a suggestion that are made in a myriad of wineries, gorges and natural caves.
About the island nature, still far from the mass tourism circuits, the Sorgeto Bay is a small paradise where it is possible to enjoy the spa free of charge but also to know a bit of our local life and traditions. The visit to the Bay of Sorgeto is a good opportunity to know the village of Panza with its Mother Church dedicated to St. Leonard Abbot. During the Christmas holidays, the country organizes games, handicraft exhibitions, recitals, concerts and in particular on January 6th, Epiphany, children dressed like shepherds and wise men will run through the streets of the town to announce the birth of Baby Jesus.
The Sorgeto Bay is one of the most important destination for a holiday in Ischia. The gentle warmth of the water makes this experience even more interesting especially at Christmas, when the sky is dark and the sea is incredibly quiet. And so the cold waters of the sea welcome and mitigate the hot mineral springs gathered in natural basins that become outdoor living rooms where you can meet islanders who habitually use the waters and tuff rocks all around to prepare natural mud. Meanwhile, baked potatoes and chicken are cooked under the hot stones. In short, it is the ideal place to spend a quiet day ... or a romantic evening under the moonlight!
