Friday, November 5, 2010

Ischia, Italy

Here is a very nice map card I got some months ago as an official card.

IT-88633

Ischia is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples. There are a number of sites worth visiting on the island, among which are: Aragonese Castle, Gardens of La Mortella, Gardens of Villa Ravino, Villa La Colombaia etc.

Ischia's history is as rich and as varied as its climate and natural properties, beginning with the Greeks, who colonised the island in the eighth century B.C. naming it Pithecusa which translated means "monkey", in reference to the prevalence of these animals on the island in ancient times. Unlike today, the volcano was active. Possibly because of an eruption, the island was abandoned by the original inhabitants, and the more temperate town of Cuma was founded on the mainland.
There were a lot of turbulences in its history until it finally found tranquility in modernity, and since the invention of the Grand Tour has been subjected to nothing worse than invasions of fleets of tourists, exploring the island on the picturesque three wheeled microtaxis equipped for touring.




The stamp in the top right corner was issued in 2008, Celebrating Rome as the capital city, while the others are Italian definitives showing women, issued in 2002.

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