Take a break on the green island of Ischia

Blessed with a balmy climate that extends from April through to the end of October, Natasha von Geldern discovers that the island of Ischia is a lush Italian paradise in the Gulf of Naples.

Ischia feels a world away from the day-trip Mecca of Capri - where cruise ships decant thousands of tourists every day and people fight for space on the tiny beaches.

It's more the kind of island where people come for a one- or two-week holiday and caters for people who want to relax, as well as those who want sights to see and things to do.

A hideaway for stars such as Gracie Fields, Pablo Neruda and Truman Capote, Ischia was appropriately one of the glamorous Italian locations featuring in the Matt Damon/Gwyneth Paltrow/Jude Law film The Talented Mr Ripley.

It plays the role of the fictitious resort of Mongibello and you can laze away a day on Bagno Antonio - the beach where the 1950s playboys and girls idled away their time in the film.

Or hire a boat and potter around the coastline, stopping at tiny beaches to swim and picnic.

Ischia Ponte is dominated by the massive bulk of the Aragonese castle, which was originally constructed in 474 BC but has undergone many incarnations since then.

The 13th-century cathedral was effectively ruined by Nelson's canon in 1800 but the crypt remains and features some exquisite frescoes from the school of Giotto.

Venturing further underground you will find the site of death rituals carried out by the resident nuns of St Clare.

Between 1500 and 1800 the cloistered women didn't bury nuns who died but sat their bodies on chairs cut into the stone.

Each chair has a hole in the seat into which the decomposing bodies would slowly descend into the bowels of the island – while the still living nuns sat nearby in contemplation.

A day trip to Pozzuoli, on the Phlegrean peninsula, is another good option, with a convenient ferry service running every 40 minutes from Ischia.

The Phlegraean Fields, or Campi Flegrei, is a 13km-wide volcanic caldera - an area of land which has collapsed due to the emptying of a magma chamber due to a volcanic eruption.

The Giardini La Mortella was where English composer William Walton chose to live from 1946 until his death in 1983.

This lush sub-tropical garden was created on the site of an old quarry by Walton's wife Susanna with the help of landscape architect Russell Page.

La Mortella is a riot of hibiscus and waterlily flowers under the cool shadow of the umbrella pines and the air is scented with jasmine and honeysuckle and a hundred other exotic plants.





In summer the garden's concert hall enjoys fabulous acoustics because of the warm air rising off the sea and a full programme of concerts features orchestras and chamber musicians from around the world.

At the very top of the hill are views over the coastline and an agapanthus-fringed pool where a concerto of copulating frogs entertains visitors.

A waterfront restaurant in nearby Forio-San Francesco serves bruschetta piled with cherry tomatoes, glistening with olive oil and tasting like they've been soaked in sugar water, and good Neapolitan pizza.

And when you've had enough of sightseeing, head for one of the thermal spas Ischia is famous for.





Most of the 220-odd hotels on the island have their own thermal springs and many have pools and spa treatments.

The thermal waters of Ischia are said to be therapeutic for neurological, respiratory, gynecological, dermatological and vascular problems.

Built into the foot of dramatic tufa cliffs beside the bay of Citara, the Giardini Poseidon occupies a prime beachfront position and has been welcoming visitors to enjoy the extensive complex of thermal pools heated to different temperatures since 1956.

This German-run spa is unsurprisingly clean and efficiently run and has an extensive menu of spa beauty and massage treatments.

A day pass for the Giardini Poseidon costs €28 (£22) and includes access to the private beach.

And after your day at the spa? Sit under a wisteria bower and sip limoncello or freshly-squeezed orange juice in a roadside cafe.

Where to eat on Ischia

For a memorable meal on the harbourside in Ischia Ponte, go visit with Raimundo the Sicilian at the Enoteca un Attimo du Vino.

The name translates as "a moment of wine" and this is more a lifestyle than a business and a place to meet as well as a restaurant.

Inside it's like dining in someone's cosy and well-lit wine cellar, with floor to ceiling bookcases filled with over 700 types of wine - and a few books stuffed in a wine case by the door.

Using his own olive oil and playing jazz in the background, Raimundo produces a feast of ricotta ravioli with a highly savoury fish sauce and a sea bass fillet wrapped in an almost transparently-thin potato batter.

We enjoyed a selection of local wines - delicious forastera and biancolella whites best drunk young and in Ischia.

And as a final treat - a celebrated moscato desert wine from the southernmost island of Italy.

Pantelleria is virtually off the coast of Tunisia and Passito di Pantelleria was in legend offered by the goddess Tanit to Apollo as part of a (successful) seduction attempt. It is therefore famed as the wine of the gods.

How to get to Ischia

Regular Caremar and Lauro ferries and hydrofoils travel from Naples (including from the main port and Mergellina) and Pozzuoli to the various ports on Ischia every day. Click here for more information on the ferry service.

Getting around on Ischia

Getting around Ischia is easy. A 24-hour bus service runs every half an hour between 05:00 and 01:00 and every hour for the rest of the night. It costs €1 for a ticket that lasts 90 minutes and €4 for an all-day pass.

For more information on holidays on Ischia and in the Campania region see the tourist board website.