Chiesa del Soccorso
Forio
KnownSacred art
The story
White and plain on the headland of Forio, the sailors' church faces the open sea: here, among majolica tiles and ex voto, people come to wait for one of the island's most famous sunsets.
Access
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The story
The church of the Soccorso, dedicated to Santa Maria della Neve, is one of the symbols of Ischia: white and dazzling, it rises on a small promontory sheer above the sea, at Forio. Born as an Augustinian convent in 1350, it joins elements of different styles, almost Mediterranean and Greek-Byzantine. In the sacristy the votive offerings of the sailors have accumulated for centuries.
What to see
The white building facing the Tyrrhenian, with the churchyard, the majolica and the sacristy full of votive offerings: little panels of shipwrecks and models of boats left by the fishermen who escaped the storms, and a fifteenth-century wooden crucifix found at sea. From here, one of the most celebrated sunsets in Italy.
How to get there
- Hydrofoil
- Ferry
Tips
The church is a place of worship and a belvedere over the sea: enter with respect and check the hours on site. The magic moment is the sunset, from May to September, when the sun sets right in front of the churchyard: arrive a little earlier for a spot on the low wall. You are in the centre of Forio.
Frequently asked questions
What is the church of the Soccorso in Ischia?
A white church sheer above the sea at Forio, dedicated to Santa Maria della Neve, born as a convent in 1350: one of the symbols of the island, famous for the sailors' votive offerings and for the sunsets.
What is kept in the church of the Soccorso?
The votive offerings of the fishermen — little panels of shipwrecks and models of boats — and a fifteenth-century wooden crucifix found at sea.
Why is it famous for the sunset?
Because from May to September the sun sets right in front of the churchyard, over the sea: a spectacle that has inspired artists and travellers.
More gems in Forio
NatureGiardini La Mortella
Forio (NA)
Above Forio, the gardens that Susana Walton cultivated for her composer husband: tree ferns, water lilies and streams in an amphitheatre of volcanic rock facing the Ischia sea.
In the water & divingParco Termale Poseidon
Forio (NA)
On the bay of Citara dozens of pools at different temperatures face the sea, among flowering terraces and the sunset that sets the water of Forio ablaze.
MuseumsIl Torrione (Museo Civico Giovanni Maltese)
Forio (NA)
Built in 1480 to spot Saracen sails, this cylinder of tufo (volcanic tuff) became four centuries later the home-studio of the sculptor Giovanni Maltese, who lived here into the twentieth century. Today his sculptures still inhabit the tower that once had to defend Forio from pirates.
- ◆ Nature
Giardini Ravino
Forio
Between the vineyards of the Epomeo and the sea of Forio, a garden of cacti and succulents: one of the richest collections in Europe, among century-old saguaros and rare species.
- In the water & diving
Baia di Sorgeto
Forio (NA)
On Ischia, where boiling thermal springs gush among the rocks and mingle with the sea, the bay of Sorgeto offers a warm bath even in winter, under the stars.
- Villages
Centro storico di Forio
Forio (NA)
The alleys of Forio are not crooked by chance: they were designed to confuse Ottoman corsairs, a labyrinth that stole precious minutes from the escape. To walk them today is to get lost on purpose, just as they were meant to.
More gems: Sacred art
Sacred artCappella Sansevero (Cristo Velato)
Napoli (NA)
Beneath a veil of marble that still seems to breathe, Sanmartino's Cristo Velato rests in the chapel's half-light, and the whiteness of the stone deceives every eye.
Sacred artDuomo di Napoli
Napoli
Three times a year the city holds its breath as the blood of San Gennaro waits to liquefy, among Gothic naves and the gold of the chapel devoted to him.
Sacred artCappella del Tesoro di San Gennaro
Napoli
Behind a bronze gate lie silverware, gems and the jewel-studded mitre of the saint: a treasure heaped up over centuries by the devotion of Naples.
Sacred artChiesa del Gesù Nuovo
Napoli
The facade of pyramid-cut piperno stone hides symbols carved into the blocks, while inside the Baroque bursts out in marble and in the memory of the physician Giuseppe Moscati.
Sacred artChiostro di Santa Chiara
Napoli
A garden of pillars clad in yellow and blue majolica, where lemon pergolas and eighteenth-century scenes painted on the tiles keep the noise of the city at bay.
Sacred artSanta Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad Arco
Via Tribunali 39
Bronze skulls stand guard at the entrance, and down in the hypogeum the cult of the anime pezzentelle (adopted souls of the dead) still leaves flowers and prayers beside abandoned crania.