A little bit of history
Inhabited from remote times(Mycenaean traces at Vivara, Roman tombs at “Campo Inglese”), the island was certainly inhabited by the Greeks and the Latins before the Romans.
There is clear proof of Barbarian invasions after the fall of the Roman Empire and of the succeeding Saracen raids. Around the year 1000 the Normans installed a feudal state under the family of “Da Procida”, the famous leader of which was that “Giovanni da Procida”, protagonist of the Sicilian Vespers.
In 1400 the “D’Angiò” conceded Procida as a feud to the “Cossa” and then to the “D’Avalos”.
Charles III of the Bourbons elected Procida as a hunting reservation; this was the period, under the Bourbons, that the island, with its marine and ship building activities in expansion, was at a peak in economic and cultural growth. The sailing ships built in Procida’s shipyards and manned by Procidan seamen travelled the world’s seas and brought riches to the island. There are many impressive and elegant family villas which date back to this period, interesting today for their architecture and their beautiful gardens. In the 18th century a great many Procidans belonged to the cultural elite which made Naples the cultural capital of Europe. “Eusebio Marcello Scotti”, executed under the Bourbon repression in 1799, author of, among others, a nautical catechism on the civil, moral and religious duties of the seaman, was one of the most noted characters of those worthy Procidan citizens.
In 1799 Procida supported the Neapolitan republic, the short history of which inspired, according to some, the national renaissance, and “Piazza dei Martiri”takes its name from the 16 Procidans executed there by the Bourbons.
In the second half of the 19th century the expanse of mechanic propulsion and a certain local reluctance to abandon traditional sailing led Procida to lose the foremost position in shipping it had enjoyed in the 18th and early 19th century. However, Procidans retained their maritime professionality and are still renowned today as excellent captains and chief engineers.

Town planning and architecture
Procida’s urban layout and architecture are unique. The first settlement developed in the highest part of the island, now called “Terra Murata”, and other settlements grew up gradually until the whole of the island can now be considered as a single inhabited zone whose three ports are connected by the principal street “Via Vittorio Emanuele”which then becomes “Via Giovanni da Procida”. Along this main road there are several elegant villas, immersed in their stupendous gardens “which seem imperial gardens”, whose architecture is that of 18th century Naples; the oldest settlements, both marine and rural, are typically Mediterranean in style, featuring arches, vaults and climbing stairs, to be admired particularly at “Corricella” and the “Vascello”.
Terra Murata” is the oldest settlement of all, developed around the Abbey of “San Michele”. The main structure of the abbey is 17th century but the main façade is Roman and the abbey is believed to have been founded on the site of a Roman temple(finds of a Roman tablet support this belief). It is rich in artistic treasures among which the valuable lacunar wooden ceiling decorated in blue and gold whose centre painting of “San Michele” defeating the Saracens is attribuited to “Luca Giordano”(an attribuition currently in question), several valuable paintings of the 17th century Neapolitan school, an 18th century wooden organ, an extensive library counting around 8000 ancient volumes, a 17th century wooden choir stall and other interesting remains of Procida’s past splendours.
Development of the island in the 18th and 19th centuries led to the settlements being built at seashore “Sancio Cattolico” and “Corricella”, and the growth of little villages “Casale”, “Vascello”, “Casaliello” and “Spianata” around the then centre of political and economic life in “Piazza dei Martiri”. This piazza is named for the 16 Procidan citizens hanged here following the brief Parthenopean republic which was brutally repressed by the Bourbons and a monument stands here dedicated to the memory of these citizens who died for their ideals of equality and freedom. Another monument is dedicated to “Antonio Scialoja”, noted Procidan citizen, jurist and economist and minister of the first kingdom of Italy.
The view from the piazza is extremely beautiful and the surrounding small villages maintain all the characteristics of Procidan architecture which can be senn at its best in “Corricella”, a small fishing port. Here time seems to have stopped. The houses, clustered closely round the slopes of the bay and built one on top of the other, are still those of the 17th century and the intricate tangle of arches, vaults, terraces and stairs, all colour washed in pastel colours, gives us a visual example of the values of solidarity and mutual help which characterise the Procidan way of life.
Here you arrive only on foot and step straight into an oasis of tranquillity where the sound of human voices undisturbed by traffic, the colours of the houses and the sea and the warmth of the sun (the south facing port has a mild climate all year round) cancel time and space. “Corricella” has been proposed as a zone of the world’s heritage under Unesco.