Famous people

Alphonse de Lamartine in Casamicciola

At a glance

Alphonse de Lamartine, the French Romantic poet and politician, spent about a month in Casamicciola in 1820, shortly after his wedding, in a small house in the Sentinella area. He returned to Ischia in the summer of 1844, when he began writing the novel Graziella. He was one of the first great names in the island's literary tourism.

Who was Lamartine?

Alphonse de Lamartine (Mâcon 1790 – Paris 1869) was one of the greatest poets of French Romanticism and, later, a leading figure in his country's political life. In March 1820 he published the Méditations poétiques, which brought him instant fame. That same year he was appointed attaché at the French embassy in Naples, and on 5 June he married the Englishwoman Mary Ann Elisa Birch.

Summer 1820 at the Sentinella

According to local historians, in the summer of 1820 Lamartine and his wife rented a small house in Casamicciola, in the hilly Sentinella area, and spent about a month there. In a letter to his friend Louis Vignet dated 30 September 1820, the poet describes the beauty of the island with enthusiasm. The experience inspired verses dedicated to Ischia, which found their way into his poetry of the following years.

The return in 1844 and Graziella

Lamartine returned to the Bay of Naples in 1844. Local sources record a stay on Ischia between 18 August and 19 September that year. It was during this period that he began writing Graziella, a novel inspired by a youthful love in Naples and set on nearby Procida, which he completed and published years later. Poems such as the “Salut à l'île d'Ischia” (Greeting to the island of Ischia) are also linked to the island.

The various sources do not always agree on the details of his stays (some also mention an earlier journey to the Naples area in 1811–1812): the firm points are the stay in Casamicciola in 1820 and the return in 1844.

Why he matters to Casamicciola

With Lamartine, Casamicciola entered the imagination of 19th-century European travellers. After him came, for different reasons, Henrik Ibsen, Ernest Renan and Giuseppe Garibaldi: the town became a stop on the spa and literary Grand Tour, as described on the page Casamicciola, a European spa resort. No building has been identified with certainty today as the 1820 house, but the Sentinella hill retains the atmosphere and views the poet described.

What to see nearby

Frequently asked questions

When did Lamartine stay in Casamicciola?
In 1820, for about a month, with his wife, in a small house in the Sentinella area. He returned to Ischia in the summer of 1844.
Did Lamartine write Graziella on Ischia?
He began writing Graziella in 1844, during his return to the Bay of Naples, and completed it in the following years. The novel is set on Procida, an island close to Ischia.
Can you visit Lamartine's house?
There is currently no building open to the public that has been identified with certainty as his house. You can, however, stroll through the Sentinella area, where sources place his 1820 stay.

Also worth seeing

Sources and further reading

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