Citara ( it, Spiaggia di Citara) is a beach located in Forio d'Ischia, in the

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 wes ...

island of

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 ...

, near Punta Imperatore and the village 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 ...

. Its name comes from Romans who consecrated the site to

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

Citarea, whose statue made of white marble was found in the area. An old legend has it that the rocks, which can be seen from the beach, were in origin sailors transformed into stones as a punishment for passing through. The reference is from

Odysseus Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odys ...

, in which it is told that “Feaci” (the people living at “Scheria”, a place in the Tyrrhenian area which has been identified with

) provided Ulysses with a boat to get home, so the goddess

punished them for helping him. On Citara Beach the Poseidon Thermal Garden is provided with a series of sea and thermal water swimming pools. It is known for its sun catching position and limpid sea. Spring water gushes into the sea.

Poseidon Thermal Garden and resorts

The attraction of this Thermal Park in the setting of the bay of Citara in

Forio Forio (known also as ''Forio of Ischia'') is a town and ''comune'' of c. 17,000 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Naples, southern Italy, situated on the island of Ischia. Overview Its territory includes the town of Panza, the only ''frazi ...

is unique and fascinating. The thermal springs that feed the baths at the Giardini Poseidon are considered curative, due to their volcanic origins. The therapeutic effect is based both on the richness and variety of mineral salts, and on the beneficial effect of the high temperature of these waters. 22

swimming pools A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (a ...

(

thermal A thermal column (or thermal) is a rising mass of buoyant air, a convective current in the atmosphere, that transfers heat energy vertically. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar radiation, and are an example ...

, Kneipp, ocean-water) have been installed using recent technical and medical knowledge. The water temperature varies from 28°C to 40°C (82°F to 104°F ), and the abundance of water means that it is constantly renewed. A Roman sauna, a large private beach are equipped with deck-chairs and beach umbrellas, and various restaurants of which one is situated in a beautiful grotto of local tuff-stones and a boutique with a newspaper kiosk, complete this establishment.

References

Beaches of Italy Beaches of Campania Ischia {{Campania-geo-stub