Insight Pocket Guide Naples, Capri & the Amalfi Coast (Insight Pocket Guides) by Guides Insight

Author:Guides, Insight [Guides, Insight]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2017-07-01T04:00:00+00:00

The black volcanic sand of Ischia’s beaches

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

As the road descends abruptly, passing Serrara, you get a good view towards Capri before the bus turns off at Panza for Sant’Angelo G [map] . This popular little seaside village has numerous restaurants around its promontory, La Roia, and the cafés and shops that make it a charming destination. Several hotels with thermal baths are perched on the mountainside just above the Lido dei Maronti , Ischia’s longest and broadest volcanic black-sand beach. Steam hisses from fumaroles in the sand, and in nearby ravines are steamy caves and do-it-yourself mud baths used since antiquity.

As you approach Forio H [map] , you will notice more and more signs in German. Since the 1980s, Ischia has been a favourite resort of German tourists, and Forio is their capital. The cafés on the village square and waterfront are lively international crossroads. Just out of town are the Poseidon Gardens ( www.giardiniposeidon.it ), a series of 22 outdoor thermal pools near the beach that are one of the island’s most popular attractions. Forio is also the centre of wine production, and wineries often invite visitors to sample their Epomeo vintages. The gleaming white church on the headland above the harbour is the Santuario del Soccorso . Inside it is filled with votive offerings for the protection of fishermen and sailors.

Just outside Forio is La Mortella (Apr–Oct Tue, Thu, Sat–Sun 9am–7pm; www.lamortella.org ), the estate of English composer Sir William Walton (1902–83), famous for the gardens planted with over 1,000 exotic species. They were laid out by the landscape architect Russell Page and lovingly cultivated over 40 years by Walton’s green-fingered wife, Lady Susana until she passed away in 2010. Afternoon concerts given by young musicians sponsored by the William Walton Trust are held at weekends in spring and autumn, and on Thursdays in summer.

At the island’s western end is the picturesque cup-shaped harbour of Lacco Ameno . Every year on 17 May, the town explodes in an eruption of fireworks to celebrate the island’s patron saint, Santa Restituta. Lacco Ameno’s elegant spas make the unique boast of offering the most radioactive water and mud treatments in Italy.

Next comes Casamicciola Terme I [map] , a long stretch of thermal pools and hotels along the coast. The alkaline Gurgitello spring spouts 68ºC (154ºF) water and steam, in which devotees cook themselves in boxes with just their heads sticking out of the top. Henrik Ibsen, who worked on Peer Gynt here in 1867, would not recognise the place. Casamicciola was completely rebuilt after an earthquake in 1883, which took 3,000 lives. The town straggles towards Porto d’Ischia, completing the circuit.

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