Boats leave twice a day for Procida and Ischia, and though they only take two and a half hours doing the trip, in fine weather it is delightful.
On the 21st of May, 1883, I went on board, and fifteen minutes later left the quay.
It was a lovely day, the rays of the sun tempered by a delicious breeze blowing across the bay.
We skirted the waterside of the bay of Pointa di Posilipo, then crossed the entrance to the Gulf of Puzzuoli.
The scenery is magnificent; we could see over Puzzuoli, Nisida, Baiæ, etc., and rounding the Capo di Miseiro, reached the Marina di Miseiro at the foot of its picturesque castle.
I left the steamer at the beach of Marina di Santa Maria, and, having procured a cart for my luggage, journeyed by the road which traverses the island from north to south to the little Bay of Chiaiocella, whence I again took boat for the town of Ischia.
Before I proceed, let me pause for a few moments and describe this most beautiful island of the Bay of Naples.
Ischia, known to the ancients as Pithecusa, Ænaria, and Inarimi, is the largest island in the vicinity of Naples, and is distant from it about twenty miles.
