Madonna della Libera Church in Argonese Castle

On the edge of the Borgo di San Nicolo is the parish church, the oldest surviving church on the castle grounds (on the map). The church was built in the 12th century by the noble Kalosirto family in the name of Saint Nikoloai, which, in fact, gave the village its name. By the way, in the 17th century, Giovanni Giuseppe della Croce was born in this family, who was canonized and became the patron saint of the island of Ischia.

In 1301, during the catastrophic eruption of Monte Epomeo, most of the population was sheltered by the village of St. Nicholas. In honor of Our Lady of Deliverance (Madonna della Libera), who protected them from the terrible cataclysm, the survivors vowed to dedicate the church to her. Thus, the church received a new name.

The modest altar was decorated with an image of the Madonna holding out her hands as if stopping the lava flows. Now we can see a copy, the original image, made by the artist Antonio Cutaneo, is located in the Cathedral. In 1810, during the war with Napoleon, the castle was subjected to artillery fire from the British squadron and was destroyed almost to the ground. After that, all the surviving relics and valuables were transferred to the Church of Maria della Assunata in Ischia Ponte, which became a cathedral instead of the destroyed one.

During the restoration of the church, unique frescoes were discovered under a centuries-old layer of plaster.

Now only two fragments can be seen on the walls of the church, the rest were carefully separated from the stone walls and are now in restoration workshops.

During the restoration process, it turned out that the images were two - layered-the frescoes were updated around 1340. We are currently working on separating these images.

Climbing the steps of St. Chrysophorus, you can see the unique vaulted roof of the church.

This design of stone floors is typical of the Romanesque architectural style, common in the 11th and 12th centuries.