Casamicciola after 1883: the rebirth of the town

At a glance

After 1883 Casamicciola was reborn facing the sea. The 1884 Building Code, the first anti-seismic legislation of united Italy, introduced timber-framed “baraccate” houses; the Geodynamic Observatory was founded on the Sentinella hill, and the centre of town life gradually shifted towards the coast and Piazza Marina.

The holiday town

In the summer of 1883 Casamicciola was one of the most popular spa resorts in Europe: around 4,300 residents and, according to accounts of the time, more than 1,500 bathers and holidaymakers in its hotels and rented houses. After 1883 the town went through a long season of rebirth that shaped the way it looks today.

The new rules

The most lasting result of those years was the Building Code for the municipalities of the island of Ischia, in force from 15 September 1884: the first anti-seismic legislation of united Italy. The code set rules for new buildings, recommended the “baraccato” system, with a timber frame set into the masonry, and established a special building commission to enforce it.

How the face of the town changed

The rebirth was slow and gradual. The centre of town life gradually moved from the hill of Piazza Maio and the spa heart of Piazza Bagni towards the coast and Piazza Marina, where new buildings and new districts rose.

The symbol of this shift is the new Pio Monte della Misericordia complex: the old thermal hospice stood by the Gurgitello springs, but the new premises were built on the seafront from 1895, to a design by Giuseppe Florio completed by Nicola Bregli. In the same years parish priest Giuseppe Morgera built the new mother church, the basilica of Santa Maria Maddalena, inaugurated in 1896.

Science at the Sentinella

Those years also saw the birth of the Grande Sentinella Geodynamic Observatory, founded in 1884 and directed by Giulio Grablovitz: one of Italy's first first-class seismic observatories. For the history of the spa tradition in the same period, read The Rebirth of the Spa Tradition after 1883.

Frequently asked questions

How was Casamicciola reborn after 1883?

The rebirth followed the 1884 Building Code, the first anti-seismic legislation of united Italy, which recommended timber-framed “baraccate” houses. It was a gradual process that shifted the centre of town life towards the coast and Piazza Marina.

What is a “casa baraccata”?

It is a building with a frame of timber beams set into the masonry. After 1883 the building code recommended it for new buildings on Ischia.

Why is the Pio Monte della Misericordia on the seafront?

The old hospice stood by the Gurgitello, in Piazza Bagni. After 1883 new premises were built on the seafront from 1895, and they are now at the centre of the town's restoration projects.