Campania · Napoli
Procida
A four-square-kilometer Flegrean island of pastel fishing houses, the 2022 Italian Capital of Culture.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Visiting
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- F15°
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- 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
Procida sits in the Gulf of Napoli between Ischia and the Flegrean mainland, four kilometers of land area, ten thousand inhabitants, the most densely populated island in the Mediterranean. The fishing harbor at the base of the island opens onto the water while the fortified village of Terra Murata rises above it, the two parts of Procida separated by the climb from the working port to the walled height where the population once retreated from the sea. The boats in the harbor below are still working boats, and the lemon groves on the western side of the island still produce the fruit used in the local liquor and in the fish salad eaten in the harborside houses.
A small island, then, built in layers: a working waterfront at sea level, a walled settlement above it holding the abbey and the former prison, and groves to the west that supply the kitchen. The culture prize of 2022 recognized a place whose economy and street life had not otherwise changed hands.
How to get there
Procida is on an island and is reached by ferry.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Marina di Corricella
Pastel-painted fishing village stepping down to a sheltered harbor, the location of Il Postino and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Terra Murata
The highest point on the island at 91 meters, its defensive walls built against medieval Saracen raids, enclosing the original settlement above Corricella.
Abbazia di San Michele Arcangelo
Sixteenth-century abbey on the cliff, with a museum holding ex-voto paintings from generations of Procida fishermen.
Palazzo d'Avalos
Former Bourbon prison on the same clifftop, restored after closure in 1988, now exhibition spaces and visitable cell blocks.
Spiaggia della Chiaia
Crescent-shaped beach below Corricella, reached by a stone staircase from the village above, the most photographed beach on the island.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Da MarianoTrattoria
Da Mariano holds two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Procida 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 10,004, down 3.2% since 2015
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,550 to €4,200 per m² to buy, €8.10 to €13.30 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 21% 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, Bulgaria and Nigeria, against 9% across Italy. 33 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly France, Germany and the United States. There are 257 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 30% 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
There is an emergency room in the comune.
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, 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. 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. 8% 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.
Known for
IL POSTINO
Massimo Troisi filmed his 1994 Oscar-nominated final film on Procida; Anthony Minghella followed with Ripley in 1999.
CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2022
First Italian island to win the national Capital of Culture title, with 330 days of programming and forty cultural projects.
LIMONE DI PROCIDA
Elongated local lemon variety from the western side of the island, used for limoncello and the lemon salad eaten with fish.
Common questions
- What is Procida known for?
- Procida is a four-square-kilometer Flegrean island of pastel fishing houses, the 2022 Italian Capital of Culture.
- Where is Procida?
- Procida is a comune in the province of Napoli, in Campania, at 4 meters above sea level.
- How do you get to Procida?
- Procida is on an island and is reached by ferry.
- When is the best time to visit Procida?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Procida?
- Forio, Capri and Massa Lubrense.
- How many people live in Procida?
- 10,004 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Procida a good place to live?
- Procida is an island town, reached by ferry, which our Where to Move in Italy series treats as the furthest end of the road. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 21% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 4 m
- Population: 10,004
- Surface area: 4.26 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 Procida
What all six share with Procida: on the Tyrrhenian coast · near sea level
Forio
Province: Napoli
both over 10,000 people · both islands, reached by ferry
Capri
Province: Napoli
both islands, reached by ferry
Massa Lubrense
Province: Napoli
both over 10,000 people
Agropoli
Province: Salerno
both over 10,000 people
- Written about. No. 51.
Monte Argentario
Province: Grosseto
both over 10,000 people
- Written about. No. 39.
Piombino
Province: Livorno
both over 10,000 people
The letter
Procida 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 Procida comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 211 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.