Visit Ischia

Description

In the area of Cretaio, a small church dedicated to the Holy Crucifix stands. It was built by the noble Francesco Menga in 1731 and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1883 and later rebuilt. The church presents a simple architectural structure with a single polychrome marble altar and a nave, dominated by a large wooden cross of exquisite workmanship, dating back to 1700. Don Attilio Buono, told us that the church was built because one day a donkey with a crucifix (the present), left from Casamicciola. The donkey stood in a large orchard in which he threw himself on the ground and refused to continue. So in this place the inhabitants decided to build a chapel which enshrines the Crucifix. Inside there are tombstones that recall the historical stages. The city hall of Barano has expropriated it by owners, restored and returned to the faith of those who want to go there (as usual) on Fridays of Lent for the sacred rites. In the afternoon of the last Friday of Lent it is customary to celebrate a moving feature, with large participation of people: it is a way of the Cross that starts from the church and street through Cretaio up to the parish of SS. Mother in Fiaiano.