Ischia

Ischia, an island near Andreuccio di Pietro’s Naples, is the home of Restituta and the starting point of her story with Gianni di Procida. In the account of their love, the island’s shoreline shifts from a place of private devotion to the scene of her seizure, setting Gianni on a search that carries the story beyond Ischia.

Setting and inhabitants

Restituta is a fair and lively young woman from Ischia, the daughter of Marino Bolgaro, a gentleman of the island. Gianni di Procida, from the nearby island of Procida, loves her, and she loves him in return. Their relationship is shaped by the short but significant stretch of sea between their homes: Gianni visits by day and, when he cannot find a boat, sometimes swims across at night simply to see the walls of her house.

The abduction from the shore

One summer day, while Restituta is alone on the shore gathering shellfish from the rocks with a knife, she comes upon a secluded spot among the cliffs. A group of young Sicilians from Naples has taken shelter there with their vessel. Seeing her alone, they seize her despite her cries, carry her aboard, and sail for Calabria. Unable to agree among themselves over who should possess her, they take her to Palermo and give her to Frederick, King of Sicily.

Ischia as the point of departure

Restituta’s disappearance causes a great outcry on Ischia, but the islanders cannot discover who carried her away. Gianni, more deeply affected than anyone else, learns the direction in which the abductors sailed and equips a pinnace to search for her. When he hears at La Scalea that she has been taken to Palermo, he follows there. Ischia therefore anchors the tale’s opening contrast: the lovers’ repeated crossings once sustain their intimacy, but Restituta’s forced departure turns the sea into an obstacle and sends Gianni after her.