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Several towns are located along the islands coast. The largest city in
Ischia is actually (and often confusingly, for tourists) called Ischia.
The town of Ischia, however, has two different centers: Ischia Porto and
Ischia Ponte. Ischia Porto is the commercial center of the island and is
named after the main port. Ischia Ponte ("ponte" meaning "bridge" in Italian)
is named for the area surrounding and including the footbridge that was
constructed to connect the Castello Aragonese with the island. Besides
the town of Ischia, some of the other centers are the following: Lacco
Ameno, Casamicciola, Forio, Barano, Sant'Angelo, and the jointed town of
Serrara-Fontana.
Villas, Parks and Museums
Villa La Colombaia (Forio)
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The Villa, which is surrounded by a superb park, was the residence of the
movie director Luchino Visconti. It is now the seat of an cultural Institution
dedicated to Visconti, which is involved in promoting cultural activities
such as music, cinema, theatre, art exhibitions, work-shops, and cinema
reviews. There is a museum dedicated to Luchino Visconti as well. The Villa
and the the Park are accessible to public visits.
Villa La Mortella -
(Forio - San Francesco) - This park is located at Forio d’Ischia
and was originally the property of the English composer William Walton,
who lived in the Villa next door with his Argentinian wife, Susanna. The
composer, arrived on the island in 1946, planting wonderful tropical and
Mediterranean plants, some of which have now reached amazing proportions.
 The
Castle - Castello Aragonese (Ischia Ponte) - Is one of the most striking
monuments on the island. It stands on a small island near Ischia Ponte
and is reached by crossing a stone bridge. The castle is about 113 meters
high and the climb can be made on an old mule track or by using a modern
elevator that was installed in the seventies. The castle was built in 1441
by Alfonso D’Aragona on top of the ruins of an old fort that dated back
to 474 B.C. This fortified castle was used to protect Ischia’s population
from pirate attacks. One of the exhibits in the castle is dedicated to
various forms of medieval torture.
Guevara Tower - Ischia
Ponte - The tower represents as well as Castello Aragonese one of the
best known symbols of the island. It is called Guevara or Michelangelo’s
Tower and is located in front of the Castle, and is surrounded by a lawn
and facing the Sant’Anna rocks. The tower was rebuilt over the ruins of
an earlier ancient fortress: it is likely one of the defence towers built
from the 15th century to protect the Castle and the coast against enemy
attacks. The tower derives its name from the Dukes of Guevara who were
the owners since 1800. Its second name derives from a legend that Michelangelo,
who was a friend of the poet Vittoria Colonna, stayed in the tower when
he was visiting the island. The tower is nowadays used as arts exhibition
centre.
Il Torrione - Forio -
Since at least the 9th century many towers were constructed along Ischia
coastline to provide warning and to defend the island from raids by pirates.
One of those tower, called “Torrione” still exists. This tower is located
in Forio, near the harbour. It was built in 1480, and has two floors: the
ground floor has no access from outside and was used as for storing weapons
and munitions, and a rain-water tank; on the upper floor, there was accommodation
for the garrison (about 10 people) led by a “torriere” that had the task
of quickly sighting of any enemy ships and sounding the alarm. On the top,
there was a terrace provided for four cannons. Historians notice that many
similar towers were built in Forio until the 18th century, however although
many of them were now used as private residences of noble families. Sixteen
similar fortresses have been counted between 1480 and 1700, plus five more
towers built in the district of Panza, some with a squared base and others
with a circular base. Many of these towers are still standing and are mainly
private residences. The “Torrione”, after it had been restored, became
a municipal Museum (on the lower floor) while the upper floor was the home
of the artist Giovanni Maltese from Forio and is now an art gallery hosting
his pictures and sculptures collection.
A. Rizzoli Museum -
The Angelo Rizzoli Museum is located in Villa Arbusto and contains a picture
gallery about Angelo Rizzoli’s stay on the island. He used to stay in Lacco
Ameno where he promoted the restructuring of the ancient Santa Restituta
baths and sponsored the construction of a series of large luxury hotels
which in the 50's and 60's were the much loved destination for cinema stars
and international jet-setters.
Pithecusae Museum - Lacco
Ameno - The Pithecusae Archaeological Museum is located at the main
building of Villa Arbusto, in Lacco Ameno. The Villa was built in 1785
by Don Carlo Acquaviva, Duke of Atri, in the same place where a farm called
“dell’arbusto” (“arbusto” means “ shrub” , in this case the reference is
to a particular plant growing in the garden surrounding the building) existed.
Over the years the Villa had many owners, until 1952, when it was purchased
by the publisher and movie producer Angelo Rizzoli who sponsored the reconstruction
of the ancient thermal bath, the construction of some large hotels and
the restoration of Piazza Restituta in Lacco Ameno's main piazza. Villa
Arbusto also has a splendid public garden. The museum houses many archaeological
exhibits dating from the Prehistory to the Roman era. On the ground floor
there is also a geological section, which explains how the presence of
the volcanoes affected life on the island.
 The
Soccorso's church - Forio - This church is devoted to "Santa Maria
della neve" (Saint Maria of the snow), and was built on a steep promontory
from which it takes its name. As with the "Torrione" tower, it is the symbol
of the town of Forio and it is one of the most original architectural structures
on the island. The Soccorso was founded as an Augustinian convent in about
1350 but it was suppressed in 1653, with its present form going back to
1864. The church is accessible by 20 steps of piperno, which leads to a
small atrium with five crosses of pipernio. This church is world famous
not only for its location but also for its singular facade, which is white
and adorned by precious 700 majolicas representing saints and scenes of
the Passion of Christ. The Soccorso's style is very original, it reassumes
some architectures as Greek-Byzantine, Moorish and Mediterranian in harmonic
shapes. The inside is very interesting because of the many types of volta.
In the left chapel there is a thaumaturgical cross, a sculpture of Catalan
inspiration, surely made on the 16th century. Close to this cross there
are two marble medals, that were found in a medieval sarcophagus that was
found in the castel of the antique cathedral of Ischia. This church retains
various artifacts such as a shovel made by Cesare Calise that represents
Saint Augustine, and a small basin of pipernio dated from the 9-10th century.
On 05 May 2002, during his Pastoral Visit, Pope John Paul II met with many
young people in a square adjacent to the church of Our Lady Help of Christians.
Thermal Springs
Ischia's thermal springs
have been renowned since ancient times and have been tested by many Italian
and foreign scientists, for their therapeutic features. Not only are the
thermal waters used in baths and thermal gardens, but they can found in
small springs on some beaches and streams of spouting that feature hot
water gushing into the sea as well as steam spouts (fumaroles) with gases
gushing from cracks in the soil. Fumaroles can also be observed on the
slopes of the Mount Epomeo, particularly on cold days, or are located into
small caves, called “stoves”, and idiomatically “sudatori” or “sudaturi”
(from the Italian verb meaning “to perspire”) which are used as a kind
of sauna in baths and thermal gardens. Springs and spouting steam can be
considered as the manifest sign of Ischia's volcanic origins and of the
still persisting volcanic activity. The particular features of the subsoil,
due to its structure and chemical composition affect the minerals content
and the degree of dilution by sea and rain water. According to many scientists,
the location and features of the springs are affected by the combination
of the above mentioned factors. The most ancient springs are those of Casamicciola,
consacrated to the god Apollo, those of Lacco Ameno consacrated to Hercules,
those of Citara in Forio consacrated to Venus Citarea, and those of Barano
consacrated to Nitrodi Nymps.
Beaches
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Chiaia - Forio: the perfect
beach for children;
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Cava dell'Isola: Forio,
the most important beach for young people;
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Citara - Forio: Forio d'Ischia.
This beach is at the foot of Epomeo, and is one of the most popular on
the island. The crystal-clear water that laps the beach mixes with the
thermal water spas in several points, allowing you to bathe in the sea
and reap the benefit of thermal water at the same time. However, much of
this beach is prviately owned and the public areas are small and often
overcrowded. In this bay there is also the Poseidon Thermal Garden;
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Bay of Saint Montano: Lacco
Ameno. Is a bay where the thermal park Negombo is located. This unusual
beach, located between Mount Vico and Mount Zaro, is unique compared to
the island’s other beaches. The clear sea water is very hot and the water
is extremely shallow;
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Cartaromana: Ischia Ponte.
This beach is located between Castello Aragonese and the Sant’Anna cliffs.
The beach also offers one of the best views of the island. Cartaromana
is well-known for its natural hot thermal water springs that spill out
onto the shore, allowing tourists to swim in the sea even during the winter;
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Marina dei Maronti: Barano
- At 3 kms, this beach is the largest on Ischia and can be reached by taking
a charming panoramic road that starts in Barano and descends towards the
sea, or by foot via the picturesque port of Sant'Angelo. Another great
way to reach the beach is to take a water taxi (€3 euro approx) from
Sant’Angelo. The beach at Maronti is full of thermal springs, natural spas
and fumaroles;
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Spiaggia degli Inglesi:
Lovely small beach located in Ischia, suitable for enjoying a peaceful
rest, far away from crowds;
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Cava grado: small cove located
near Sant’Angelo; hydrovolcanic activity occurs in outpourings of hot water
which can be used for relaxing baths. To get here, there is a steeply sloping
foot-path starting at Succhivio;
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Bagnitiello: series of
sandy beaches along the sea front road, equipped with car parks and bathing
establishments;
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Sorgeto: Sorgeto is a shingle
small bay, west of Sant’Angelo, lying at the foot of cliffs covered by
agave plants. Here thermal waters gush from springs into the sea. On the
hill behind, is an important archaeological site, known as Punta Chiarito,
which was where the first Greek colonist planted vines and a hut village.;
and
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Fumarole Beach This beach
is supposed to be the island's finest. It's long, wide, clean and not too
crowded; it's also of a dark colour, since it's of volcanic origin. It
can be reached in 30 minutes by taking a footpath from Sant'Angelo, or
in a couple of minutes by boat-taxi. There are some fumaroles here, and
locals often go there and cook dinner in the sand. The beach is also a
popular hangout at night.
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