Forio

Comune in Campania, Italy

40°44′15.6″N 13°51′26.9″E / 40.737667°N 13.857472°E / 40.737667; 13.857472CountryItalyRegionCampaniaMetropolitan cityNaples (NA)FrazioniPanzaGovernment • MayorFrancesco Del DeoArea • Total12.85 km² (4.96 sq mi)Elevation16 m (52 ft)Population • Total17,749 • Density1,400/km² (3,600/sq mi)Demonym(s)Foriani, PanzesiTime zoneUTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)Postal codeDialing code081Patron saintSaints Vitus and LeonardSaint dayJune 15, November 6WebsiteOfficial website

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 frazione of Forio and of the island of Ischia. Panza 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 Panza tried to become an independent comune but the referendum, claimed by the inhabitants of Forio, was denied by the Campania's Regional Government.

There are numerous coastal watchtowers, built from the Middle Ages against Saracen and African pirates raids.

In the 20th century, Ischia inspired at least two well-known English language poets. Ischia was the site where W.H. Auden composed one of his most famous poems, In Praise of Limestone. And the American Poet, Theodore Roethke, dedicated his poem The Storm, to "Forio d'Ischia" as printed in Selected Poems of Theodore Rothke (Library of America, Edwin Hirsch, Ed., 2005, p.113).

See also

• Ischia

Twin towns

• Brusson, Italy
• Polignano a Mare, Italy

References

External links

• Media related to Forio at Wikimedia Commons
• Forio travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website (in Italian)