Procida Near Naples: The Island Pérez-Reverte Returned to After Two Decades, With a Former Prison on a Cliff and a Pastel Fishing Harbour

Everyone goes to Capri. Some go to Ischia. Between them, half an hour by ferry from Naples, stands Procida, an island of around 10,000 people to which Spanish writer Arturo Pérez-Reverte returned after two decades to present his new novel. "My homeland is the Mediterranean," says the former war correspondent.

The novel is called "The Most Dangerous Hypothesis" and follows sixteen-year-old Cal Gadea, who finds the father he never knew and sets off with him to sail the Mediterranean. The choice of island is no accident. Elsa Morante set her "Arturo's Island" here, and its streets and landscapes can be seen in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Il Postino".

In 2022 Procida was Italy's capital of culture, the first time that title went to an island. A title that usually goes to cities ended up with 10,000 people and a few harbours.

The route starts at Marina Grande, the main harbour. Looking up, you see Terra Murata, the historic core at the top of the cliff, with the former Palazzo d'Avalos: first a noble residence, later a prison. The view from the sea is harsh and beautiful at once. A huge building with rows of small windows, above a cliff the sea is eating away.

Marina Corricella is a fishing harbour with pastel houses and the yellow dome of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Steps, alleys, terraces right down to the water. This is the postcard that ends up on every phone.

The island is volcanic, with beaches such as Chiaiolella, Pozzo Vecchio, Ciraccio and Ciracciello. From Chiaiolella a footbridge leads to the Vivara reserve, but entry is limited and by time slot, so don't set off without checking.

For a stay, recommendations point to La Casa sul Mare, an 18th-century palazzo turned into a ten-room boutique hotel. To eat, fresh fish at Gorgonia and rabbit at La Pergola, the local coniglio alla procidana. Two days, they say, is the minimum. For an island of a few square kilometres, that says enough about the pace.

Macedonians usually measure their Mediterranean as far as Halkidiki. Procida is a reminder that this sea also has places where the prison, the fisherman and the novel stand side by side. Is Pérez-Reverte right that it's a homeland and not a destination?