Ischia.it english

Maria, to the Mount and among vines

Succhivo, hamlet of Serrara Fontana, is a town of about 300 inhabitants located 500 meters from the most famous village of Sant’ Angelo, in the south of the island of Ischia.
It lies at the center of one of the most famous and beautiful coastal landscapes of Italy, between the green slopes of vines and the acrid smell of orange groves. Succhivo develops in all streets that flank secular gardens, wineries and farmhouses, immersed in silence because not reached by the noise of cars. 

Who arrives here in September can still assist the work of the harvest, often practiced with traditional techniques.
The center of Succhivo consists of a group of houses, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary and quaint shops with agricultural products and local crafts.
Succhivo is a very popular among the tourists because it offers a restful atmosphere but at the same time picturesque and cheerful. The subtropical nature, care centers with thermal baths and saunas, natural coves of crystal clear water, sports centers for every kind of discipline, the food, the excellent wine and the hospitality of the people make Succhivo a piece of paradise yet intact.
Also for this country every spring is full of visitors who continue to return there for years, to spend a period of peace and quiet.
Succhivo has very ancient origins. As attest the discoveries occurred in areas not very far from the church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary it is probable that in this place and in the place called "Fumerie" (Panza) will be allocated a community that entertained trade relations with ancient Rome, in the period of the empire of Trajan.
The Country Church (part of the Parish of St. Michael the Arc. In S. Angelo) was founded in 1684 by the Mattera family. During 1700 was often guarded by hermits.
On the back wall of the apse one can admire the most significant work among those preserved in the church: an oil on canvas depicting the Madonna with St. Nicholas and St. Anthony. The work goes back to Di Spigna, a painter from Lacco Ameno. The Procession on September 8th, to Succhivo, one of the most intense and meaningful to express their soul and their history.
The procession, which leads to the streets of the village to the Virgin Mary and the Saints Gabriel and Michael, defies the years and centuries and is repeated every year with all its load of emotions and feelings. It is, for the inhabitants of the small town, the fruit of a deep felt and genuine tradition that has always been able to unite the religious sentiment values of participation and sense of belonging to the Community.
A religious event, therefore, an expression of popular culture and witness the moral qualities that have always characterized the citizens of Succhivo.
Unchanged and with deep admiration, Succhivo is going every year to relive this extraordinary event. The whole country is incredibly proud because, faithfully celebrating their own history, celebrates itself and its never forgotten identity.
Another party where the Virgin Mary is celebrated on the feast day of her name is held on Sept. 12 at the Church of Santa Maria al Monte in Forio 400 mt. height above sea level, which in that day "turns of life" and welcomes pilgrims from all over the island. Excavated in the tuff part, this "stone church" can be considered a typical example of rock-cut architecture.
Abandoned around 1930 and used as a shelter for animals and storage of wood, it was restored in '57 thanks to Grandma Carmela Picarelli and donations collected by the forian faithful, and she has represented the soul of the festival for many years together other inhabitants of the place, devoted to Our Lady, as the pastor still very active Don Sferratore Pasquale, Luigi Luongo called "bijoux" and Bartolomeo Impagliazzo, "Bartiluccio", to whom is entitled the cross race which takes place every year in the afternoon of September 12, starting at the "Cinema delle Vittorie". A fascinating day, that the feast of the Name of Mary, which flows between the celebrations of Mass, procession with the Blessed Sacrament to "Punta Gallotta" and lunch together: a sort of "second Easter Monday" with the islanders, with the inhabitants the area who do not hesitate to open at all on that day their simple homes. In the afternoon, the last Holy Mass and the arrival of the festive running close to running a page of the enchanting island year, which brings us back a bit in time for a few hours moving away from the chaos of everyday life, making us breathe the scent of things simpler and therefore more beautiful!