Forio (known also as ''Forio of Ischia'') is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of c. 17,000 inhabitants in the

Metropolitan City of Naples The Metropolitan City of Naples ( it, Città metropolitana di Napoli) is an Italian metropolitan city in Campania region, established on 1 January 2015. Its capital city is Naples; within the city there are 92 comunes (municipalities). It wa ...

, southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, situated on the island of

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...

Overview

Its territory includes the town of

Panza Panza ''(sometimes Panza d'Ischia)'' is a small town of 7,000 inhabitants on the island of Ischia, Italy. It is a hamlet (''frazione'') of the municipality of Forio. Name According to archaeological discoveries the place was so named by the fi ...

, the only ''frazione'' of Forio and of the island of Ischia.

has always been an independent village since the 16th century when a first governmental organization was introduced on the island. In the 1975 the inhabitants of

tried to become an independent ''comune'' but the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

, claimed by the inhabitants of Forio, was denied by the Campania's Regional Government. There are numerous coastal

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

s, built from the Middle Ages against

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

and African pirates raids.

Twin towns

* Brusson, Italy *

Polignano a Mare Polignano a Mare (; Barese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, located on the Adriatic Sea. The local economy mostly depends on tourism, agriculture and fishing. History The area has been settle ...

, Italy

References

External links

* *
Official website
Cities and towns in Campania Ischia {{Campania-geo-stub

Overview

See also

Twin towns

References

External links