| Sack of Ischia | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Naples | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Hayreddin Barbarossa | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 4,000 captured | ||||||
The Sack of Ischia in 1554 was a Military operation done by the great corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa against the Kingdom of Naples on the island Ischia.
On June 24, 1554, the renowned Corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa journeyed to Italy and targeted the Island of Ischia near Naples, which was then part of the Kingdom of Naples. He conducted multiple raids on the island, resulting in the capture of approximately 4,000 individuals who were subsequently sold as slaves in Algeria. The island suffered significant damage during the attacks, and nothing relevant was remembered until a naval battle that happened in 1815.[1][2][3][4] However, one of the Island’s towers wasn't destroyed, as Barbarossa couldn't do much because the tower was full of artillery.[5]
Legend has it that on the day of June 24, the same day as the raid conducted by Hayreddin Barbarossa, the people of Ischia, particularly in the area of Forio which was heavily targeted, would tell their children a tale. They believed that swimming on the beach on this particular day would bring them face to face with Barbarossa himself, and they claimed to have seen swords and knives in the sea as evidence of his presence.[6]
