For the second time this year, the romantic island of Capri has totally shut down to protest cuts in ferry service. The other two islands in the Bay of Naples archipelago, Ischia and Procida, staged similar protests on Tuesday.
The 'strike' on Capri was the most successful with shops, bars and all commercial activity in the port of Marina Grande, the central town of Capri and its mountain neighbor Anacapri shutting from 4am to 9pm.
A blockade by islanders stopped the arrival of ferries and hydrofoils packed with tourists, who are the lifeblood of the island's economy. The island first shut down last April. At the timeorganizers warned that this was only the first in a series
of actions aimed at drawing attention to a number of pressing problems on the island. Aside from ferry service these include the condition of the local hospital and road traffic.
The decision to stage a second strike was made last Wednesday during a joint session of the Capri and Anacapri municipal assemblies, together with the hotel operators' association and other commercial organizations.
An attempt by the governor of the Campania region, Antonio Bassolino, to avert the strike failed on Friday.
The Capresi are particularly angered over the decision by the Caremar ferry lines to reduce its service to Naples and end service completely between the island and neighboring Sorrento.
Last month, the mayors of Capri, Anacapri and Procida joined a similar protest against Caremar on Ischia which successfully blocked all maritime traffic to and from the island for most of the day.
The mayors of the three islands have repeatedly asked the region to revoke Caremar's operating license unless it reinstates recently cancelled services.
