Il Mio Corpo Va, Pero Il Mio Cuore Rimane

My body goes, but my heart remains. There are so many things about Ischia that give it a special place in my heart that I don’t really know where to begin to explain what I was feeling both while I was there and even more so as I sat on the boat heading away from it. I have told you the stories of the things I have done here and the wonderful people I have met, but there is one thing that no matter how I write it you will never understand unless you have felt it; that is the pure love that filled my entire being in every moment I spent there. It is such a unique and special thing to find people who love and treat you as family in a place that is not your home, but it is truly beyond words to describe what it is like to literally have an entire town make you feel like you are their son and that it has been your home all along. I could not walk more than a block without someone stopping me to ask how I was doing, invite me over for dinner, ask me to share in the celebration of their family member’s wedding, anniversary, baptism, or birthday. There wasn’t a day that passed that someone didn’t offer me something to make my time here more enjoyable. Everybody I encountered seemed not only willing, but eager to show me how great the place they lived was and found my enthusiasm for the island and their way of life refreshing and wonderful. Life on the island is literally like taking a giant step back in time. The most important thing in Ischia is not work, money, what kind of car you drive, or how big your house is. The most important thing here is living life. So much of the day is taken up doing nothing other than truly enjoying life and those around you who you have to share it with. The general routine of the day for most people goes like this. Wake up and get a coffee and pastry and sit in the piazza with your friends or go to work till lunch time comes around (one o’clock). Lunch is always eaten with the entire family, and is never less than an hour long affair. After lunch you take a walk to work off the massive amounts of delicious food you have just eaten and then take a nap. The older generation heads to the piazza after the nap to talk about what they had for lunch and how good their nap was. The younger generation walks or rides a scooter to the beach directly after lunch for their nap and to make plans for the evening.

Around five everyone heads back to work until dinner time (between eight and nine thirty) to again share a meal with the entire family. After dinner it’s off for another walk and again to talk with your friends. The older generation heads home at this point and the younger generation heads out to wherever they had made plans to go that day. For me the hardest decisions of my day usually went in this order. 1) Cornetto with chocolate or marmalade? Usually marmalade. 2) Nap, on the pier, the beach, or at the house? 3. What flavor gelato to order? 4. Red wine or white wine? 5. Coffee, Rucolino, or both. Yeah, life is rough here. I would have conversations with people younger than me, my age, and older than me all the way into their eighties with ease, and was more than appreciative for every conversation I did have. Certain things here would happen every day, but every day they amazed me as if it were the first time I had that experience. Like the smell of the Jamine as I crossed over from Forio into Lacco Ameno, saw the view of Lacco ameno from Mezza Torre as I rounded the corner there, or saw the castle as I made my way into town.


I have felt the different types of sand from every beach on the island between my toes so many times that if you blind folded me and handed me sand I could tell you what part of the island you got it from. I’ve seen the sun rise and the sunset here and still cannot tell you one is more beautiful than the other.


I have eaten the best pizza in Italy, enjoyed the most delicious home cooked meals ever, and dined in the best restaurants I have found in the world all on this little island. I have made friends that are more like family, and become part of families as well. I’ve hiked a volcano and spent a day in castle all within hours of each other and still had time to drink a coffee and watch the sun go down.



I’ve learned a new language, culture, and way of life that has changed the person I am forever. More than all of this however, I have found a home. I may not live here forever but Ischia and the people I have met here will forever live in my heart. I look forward to each time I return knowing that whenever I do come back, I will be greeted with smiles, hugs, and kisses all saying “benvenuto a casa”… welcome home!