Basilica of the Sacro Cuore di Gesù and Santa Maria Maddalena Penitente

Casamicciola's mother church

Halfway between upper Casamicciola and the Marina, near Piazzetta Funno, rises the basilica of the Sacro Cuore di Gesù e di Santa Maria Maddalena Penitente (Sacred Heart of Jesus and St Mary Magdalene the Penitent), the town's mother church and seat of the parish. Its story is that of the community itself: born on the Maio hill and reborn further down after 1883, at the behest of a parish priest now declared Venerable.

History

The old parish church in Piazza Maio

The date of its foundation is unknown. The first reliable record dates from 1540, when the Bishop of Ischia granted the community of Casamicciola the right of patronage over the church, then a small parish dedicated to San Severino, in the Maio area. Rebuilt and enlarged, during the 17th century it added the title of Santa Maria Maddalena Penitente to its original one, and the new title eventually prevailed. In 1867 the historian Giuseppe D'Ascia described it standing in the middle of Piazza Maio: three aisles in a Latin-cross plan, eight marble side altars, white and gilded stucco work and a dome on a tall drum that marked the town's skyline.

Rebirth with Don Giuseppe Morgera

After 1883 the new parish priest, Don Giuseppe Morgera, led the community from the temporary seats of the church of Sant'Antonio al Mortito and then the Buon Consiglio church at the Marina. For the new church he chose a site equidistant between the upper and lower parts of town; the contract with the builders was signed on 7 May 1894, the foundation stone was blessed on 8 July 1894 by Bishop Giuseppe Candido and the church was inaugurated on 31 May 1896. In line with the building regulations introduced after 1883, the new Latin-cross church was given a pitched roof. In May 1965 Pope Paul VI raised it to the rank of minor basilica.

What to see

• The high altar in polychrome marble, topped by statues of the Sacred Heart and St Mary Magdalene: from 1884 onwards they were given to Morgera by an anonymous benefactor, later revealed to be Francis II of Bourbon, his childhood friend.
• The tomb of the Venerable Don Giuseppe Morgera, the “saintly parish priest”, moved here in 1966.
• The 18th-century marble baptismal font, from the old church in the Maio.
• A painting of the Assumption, from the old church of the Assunta in Piazza Bagni, and a Trinity from the early 19th century.
• The tomb of Monsignor Carlo Mennella, the wooden statue of St Emidius and, in the transept, an 18th-century bust of Mary Magdalene.

The patron saint's feast

St Mary Magdalene is the patron saint of Casamicciola. Her feast is celebrated in July: two processions wind through upper Casamicciola and the Marina, and on 22 July, the saint's day, the statue is carried out onto the church forecourt for an open-air solemn Mass. The festivities close with a concert and fireworks.

Where it is and how to get there

The basilica is on Via Roma, near Piazzetta Funno, a few minutes' walk from Piazza Bagni and about a ten-minute uphill walk from the harbour.

What to see nearby

Further uphill is Piazza Maio, where the old parish church stood, and the nearby Purgatorio church; not far away is the church of San Giuseppe, which held Morgera's remains until 1966.