Sant'Angelo is the seafaring village which is located in front of the islet with the same name, an imposing crag with a pyramidal shape, 109 meters high and joined to the main island by a sandy strip 120 meters long.

Upon the islet, which is the southern extremity of Ischia, during the Middle Ages it was built a small monastery, transformed in the 18th century into a military stronghold, named Torre Sant'Angelo (St.Angel's Tower), with several powerful pieces of artillery, capable to defend the whole southern side of the island. It was attacked by the British fleet in 1809 with a shelling bombardment which caused the explosion of the ammunition magazine. It was not rebuilt anymore and nowadays they remain only some ruins.

Up to 1948 (when it was completed the car road joining to the hamlet of Panza and then to Forio) Sant'Angelo lived in splendid isolation, since it was reachable only through the sheer paths coming from the villages of Serrara and Fontana, passing through the ravines excavated into the tufa rocks by the stream water, or through the long and hard crossing of the Maronti Beach. It had not even its own Postal office and to deliver the mail the postman came down from Serrara once or twice a week. The most part of the tourists do not venture down there, but was satisfied to see it from the Epomeo. Also for that reason Sant'Angelo was deeply loved by the few appassionate people who came here and rented a room from villagers.

The fishing village had an economy based mainly upon the commerce of agricultural products coming from villages and hamlets on the southern side of Mount Epomeo, which had no other landing points on the sea: Succhivo, Serrara, Fontana, Noia, Buonopane, Barano. By the muletracks through the ravines, they came here the mules loaded with barrels of wine, exported up to Sardinia and Tunisia. The difficulties and the isolation had created among villagers a strong community feeling, symbolized by the "vira-vira", a four armed winch powered by 12-16 men used to hoist aground everyone's boat with the help of all the others.  [ More...]