The Diocese of Ischia ( la, Dioecesis Isclana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

, 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 re ...

. It is a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the

Archdiocese of Naples The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Naples ( it, Arcidiocesi di Napoli; la, Archidioecesis Neapolitana) is a Roman Catholic Archdiocese in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and ...

. The diocese comprises the entire island of Ischia, which contains seven communes divided into two circumscriptions. In 1743, the population was about 4,000. The city of Ischia constituted one single parish, with two religious houses of men and one of women. In 2018, the population of the town of Ischia was 20,118.

History

The earliest known Bishop 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 ...

, Pietro, was present at the

Third Lateran Council The Third Council of the Lateran met in Rome in March 1179. Pope Alexander III presided and 302 bishops attended. The Catholic Church regards it as the eleventh ecumenical council. By agreement reached at the Peace of Venice in 1177 the bitter ...

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...

in 1079. In July 1228, a major earthquake struck the island of Ischia. Upwards of 700 persons were killed. In imitation of the Sicilians and their revolt against

Charles I of Naples Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) i ...

(the

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of S ...

, 1282), Ischia revolted, but was reconquered by Charles' son, Charles II, in 1299, and four hundred of his troops were set loose to sack and burn the properties. The cathedral, dedicated to the taking up (Assumption) of the Virgin Mary into heaven, is located in the Castello Aragonese, at the eastern tip of the island of Ischia. It is inaccessible except by a steep climb on foot. In 1848, the cathedral was served and administered by a Chapter, composed of three dignities (the Primicerius, the Archdeacon, and the Archpriest) and sixteen Canons. All the Canons were appointed by the cathedral's patron, the King of the Two Sicilies. Bishop Luca Trapani (1698–1718) presided over a diocesan synod, held in the cathedral from 31 May to 2 June 1716. The diocesan seminary was begun by Bishop Nicola Schiaffinati, O.E.S.A. (1739–1743), but was not completed until the reign of his successor, Bishop Felice Amato (1743–1764). In order to finance the operation of the seminary, two parishes were suppressed, Santa Barbara in the Castello Aragonese, and San Domenico in Campagnano. On 23 July 1762, a major earthquake struck Ischia, without loss of life, but with the destruction of the parish church at Casamicciola. On 18 March 1796, another earthquake struck the same area, and seven people died. The Concordat of 1818 between the Holy See (Papacy) and the Kingdom of the two Sicilies provided for the consolidation of the diocesan structure of the kingdom by the elimination of some fifty dioceses. Ischia, after nineteen years without a bishop, was specified as one of those dioceses, and it was to be united to the diocese of Pozzuoli. Strong representations made by a delegation of Ischiani to the King, however, brought the diocese a reprieve.

Bishops

to 1800

:... *Petrus (attested 1179) *Amenius (attested 1206) :... *Salvus (attested 1295) :... *Petrus (attested 1306) :... *Ugolinus de Auximo, O.P. (attested 1340) *Guilelmus (died 1348) *Thomasius (attested 1348) *Jacobus (attested 1359) * Bartolomeo Borsolari, O.E.S.A. (1359) *Paulus Strina (1384–1389) *Nicolaus Tinti, O.P. (1389–1418) *Lorenzo de Ricci (1419–1435) *Joannes de Sicilia, O.E.S.A. (1436–1453) *

Michele Cosal Michele (), is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and identically ...

, O.Cist. (1453–1464) *Joannes de Cicho (1464–1501) *

Bernardino de Leis Bernardino is a name of Italian, Hispanic, or Portuguese origin, which can refer to: Given name *Bernardino Baldi (1533–1617), Italian mathematician and writer *Bernardino Bertolotti (born 1547), Italian composer and instrumentalist *Bernardi ...

, C.R.L. (1501–1504) *Donatus Strineo (1504–1534) *

Agostino Falivenia Agostino may refer to: *Agostino (name) * ''Agostino'' (film), an Italian film directed by Mauro Bolognini * ''Agostino'' (novel), a short novel by Alberto Moravia *, an Italian coaster See also *Agostini (disambiguation) *D'Agostino (disambiguati ...

(Pastineus), O.S.M. (1534–1548) * Francisco Gutiérrez (bishop) (1548–1554) *

Virgilio Rosario Virgilio Rosario (1499 – 22 May 1559) was an Italian Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Biography Virgilio Rosario was born in Spoleto in 1499. He became a doctor of both laws. He was ordained as a priest and became rector of a parish. He ...

(1554–1559) * Filippo Geri (1560–1564) * Fabio Polverone (1565–1589) * Iñigo de Avalos, C.R. (1590–1635) *

Francesco Tontori Francesco Tontori, C.R.S. or Francesco Tontolo (died 1663) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Ischia (1638–1663). Biography Francesco Tontori was ordained a priest in the Ordo Clericorum Regularium a Somascha. On 15 Janua ...

(Tontolo), C.R.S. (1638–1663 Resigned) *

Giovanni Antonio de' Vecchi Giovanni Antonio de' Vecchi (died 1672) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Ischia (1663–1672). ''(in Latin)'' ''(in Latin)'' Biography On 12 Feb 1663, Giovanni Antonio de' Vecchi was appointed during the papacy of Pope Alexa ...

(1663–1672) *

Gerolamo Rocca Gerolamo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Gerolamo Cardano (1501–1576), Italian Renaissance mathematician, physician, astrologer and gambler * Gerolamo Emiliani (1486–1537), Italian humanitarian, founder of the Somaschi ...

(1672–1691) * Michelangelo Cotignola (1692–1698 Resigned). * Luca Trapani (1698–1718) *Gianmaria Capecelatro, C.R.L. (1718–1738) *Nicola Antonio Schiaffinati,

O.E.S.A. The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

(1739–1743 Died) *Felice Amato (1743–1764 Died) *Onofrio de Rossi (1764–1775) *Sebastiano de Rosa (1775–1792) *Pasquale Sansone (1792–1799)

since 1800

:''Sede vacante'' (1799–1818) *Giuseppe d'Amante (1818–1843 Died) *Luigi Gagliardi (1845–1854 Resigned) *Felice Romano (1854–1872 Died) *Francesco di Nicola (1872–1885 Died) *Gennaro Portanova (1885–1888) *Giuseppe Candido (1888–1901 Resigned) *Mario Palladino (1901–1913) *Pasquale Ragosta (1914–1925) *Ernesto de Laurentiis (1928–1956 Died) *Antonio Cece (1956–1962) *Dino Tomassini (1962–1970)Tomassini was appointed

Bishop of Anglona-Tursi The Diocese of Tursi-Lagonegro ( la, Dioecesis Tursiensis-Lacunerulonensis) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory in Basilicata, southern Italy. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Potenza-Muro Lucano-Marsico Nuovo.

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. *Diego Parodi, M.C.C.I. (1980–1983 Died) *Antonio Pagano (1983–1997 Retired) *Filippo Strofaldi (1997–2012 Resigned) *Pietro Lagnese (2013–2020 Appointed, Bishop of Caserta) *Gennaro Pascarella (2021–present)

Notes and references

Bibliography

Reference for bishops

* * * * * * * * * *

Studies

*Buonocore, O. (1926). ''La diocesi di Ischia'' Napoli. * * *Kamp, Norbert (1975). ''Kirche und Monarchie im staufischen Königreich Sizilien
I. Prosopographische Grundlegung, Bistumer und Bistümer und Bischöfe des Konigreichs 1194–1266: 2. Apulien und Calabrien
' München: Wilhelm Fink 1975. * *Scotti, Antonio (1848), "Ischia," in: * :: {{authority control

Ischia Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ischia 1179 establishments in Europe 12th-century establishments in Italy