Campania · Napoli
Casamicciola Terme
Ischia's thermal town on the flank of Monte Epomeo, levelled by the 1883 earthquake and again in 2017, rebuilt on the Gurgitello springs.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Casamicciola Terme is on our list.
Subscribe and you get Casamicciola Terme's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
When to visit
Best · All year
- J14°
- F15°
- M15°
- A18°
- M22°
- J27°
- J30°
- A30°
- S27°
- O22°
- N19°
- D16°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Casamicciola Terme sits on the northern slope of Monte Epomeo on the island of Ischia, thirty-five kilometers from Napoli by ferry. The thermal waters of Gurgitello, Fornello and Fontana springs have been used since antiquity; from the late fifteenth century the bath complexes became the main local industry, with grand hotels lining the waterfront and inland slopes. Casamicciola's seismic history is the other half of the story.
The town has been destroyed by volcano-tectonic earthquakes in 1762, 1767, 1796, 1828, 1881 and 1883, the last killing around 2,300 people and leveling most of the upper village. The Pio Monte della Misericordia, founded in the early 1600s by Neapolitan nobles to treat the poor at the thermal springs, was rebuilt in 1895 along the seafront in art nouveau style. On 21 August 2017 a magnitude 4.0 earthquake centered on the hill above town killed two people and damaged the upper area badly.
Reconstruction is still in progress. The Sentinella belvedere above the port keeps the panoramic view that Garibaldi, Ibsen and Benedetto Croce came up here to see.
How to get there
Casamicciola Terme is on an island and is reached by ferry.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Piazza Bagni
Historic thermal square with the Belliazzi baths fed by the Gurgitello spring, on the seafront strip rebuilt after the 1883 earthquake in art nouveau style.
Pio Monte della Misericordia
Charitable thermal hospital founded in the early 1600s to treat the Neapolitan poor; the current seafront building replaced the old one destroyed in 1883.
Belvedere della Sentinella
Panoramic terrace on the hill above the port, visited by Garibaldi, Ibsen and Benedetto Croce, with a view across Casamicciola harbor and the Bay of Napoli.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Maddalena
Eighteenth-century parish church facing the seafront, rebuilt after the 1883 earthquake, still the main place of worship for the lower town.
Slopes of Monte Epomeo
Northern flank of the dormant volcano above town, the source of the thermal springs and the area most damaged by the 2017 earthquake.
Living here
Could you live here?
Casamicciola Terme is an island.
- Reached by ferry. In the series we say we would never live on an island: the ferry is a commitment every time you leave.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 7,428, down 11.1% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest national health service hospital Lacco Ameno, 2 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,150 to €3,300 per m² to buy, €6.30 to €9.60 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 63% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Regional capital Naples, across the water
If you are moving here
Who lives here
5% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Ukraine, the Dominican Republic and Romania, against 9% across Italy. 22 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany. There are 210 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 34% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Naples province ranks 104th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Lacco Ameno, 2 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Campania spends about €1,800 a month, €650 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €328 a year for water, on the Campania average. In Naples, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.25, a meal in a pizzeria €11.02 and a man's haircut €18.55.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 4% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 39% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
This is a thermal town: terme operate here.
Known for
THERMAL SPRINGS
Gurgitello, Fornello and Fontana hot springs used since antiquity; thermal bathing has been the town's main industry since the late fifteenth century.
1883 EARTHQUAKE
Volcano-tectonic earthquake on 28 July 1883 killed around 2,300 people and destroyed most of the upper town; the lower seafront was rebuilt in art nouveau style.
2017 EARTHQUAKE
Magnitude 4.0 shallow earthquake on 21 August 2017 killed two and damaged the upper village; reconstruction in the hilly zone is still in progress.
Common questions
- What is Casamicciola Terme known for?
- Ischia's thermal town on the flank of Monte Epomeo, levelled by the 1883 earthquake and again in 2017, rebuilt on the Gurgitello springs.
- Where is Casamicciola Terme?
- Casamicciola Terme is a comune in the province of Napoli, in Campania, at 81 meters above sea level.
- How do you get to Casamicciola Terme?
- Casamicciola Terme is on an island and is reached by ferry.
- When is the best time to visit Casamicciola Terme?
- Any month of the year works. August is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Casamicciola Terme?
- Capri, Carloforte and Favignana.
- How many people live in Casamicciola Terme?
- 7,428 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Casamicciola Terme a good place to live?
- Casamicciola Terme is an island town, reached by ferry, which our Where to Move in Italy series treats as the furthest end of the road. The nearest national health service hospital is in Lacco Ameno, 2 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 63% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 81 m
- Population: 7,428
- Surface area: 5.85 km²
On the map
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Similar
Towns like Casamicciola Terme
What all six share with Casamicciola Terme: between 3,000 and 10,000 people · near sea level
Capri
Province: Napoli
both islands, reached by ferry
Carloforte
Province: Sulcis Iglesiente
both islands, reached by ferry
Favignana
Province: Trapani
both islands, reached by ferry
Castrocaro Terme e Terra del Sole
Province: Forlì-Cesena
both spa towns
Battaglia Terme
Province: Padova
both spa towns
Sardara
Province: Medio Campidano
both spa towns
The letter
Casamicciola Terme is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Casamicciola Terme comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 206 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.