Things to do in Ischia
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Ristorante da Ciccio
Sublime local seafood and charming host Carlo make this atmospheric place a heart-stealer. Highlights include tubattone pasta with clams and pecorino cheese, and a zesty mussel soup topped with fried bread and chilli. The wizened man sitting out the front was once the chef. These days he spends his evenings cigarette in one hand, glass of wine in the other, happily muttering to himself.
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Museo Archeologico di Pithecusae
The town's other cultural heavyweight is the Museo Archeologico di Pithecusae, housed in the elegant Villa Arbusto, former pad of Angelo Rizzoli. The villa overlooks Monte Vico, site of the ancient settlement and acropolis of Pithecusae, and its collection features important finds from the island's Hellenic settlement, from imported earthenware to parts of the acropolis itself. Older still are the fragments of Mycenaen pottery and Bronze Age vases from Casamicciola.
The collection spans Ischia's development from Neolithic to Roman times. A highlight is the legendary 7th-century Nestor's Cup in Sala (Room) II. The three Homeric verses scratched onto its side read: 'I am Ne…
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Area Archeologica di Santa Restituta
Beneath Chiesa di Santa Restituta is the must-see Area Archeologica di Santa Restituta. Excavations undertaken between 1951 and 1974 have uncovered parts of an ancient Greek kiln, Roman temple and street, 4th-century burial amphorae and an early Christian basilica. Rows of cabinets display other ancient objects, from Roman bracelets and votive gifts to a 3300-year-old stove from Procida.
The ground-floor collection goes back to the future, with exquisite 17th-century pastori (nativity scene figurines), colourful 18th-century ceramics, high camp clerical garb and the 18th-century wooden statue of Santa Restituta still used in the annual procession in the Bay of San Montano…
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Il Sorgeto
From the pier, brightly painted water taxis reach some of the island's best beaches, including the intimate cove of Il Sorgeto, with its steamy thermal spring. Sorgeto can also be reached on foot down a poorly signposted path from the village of Panza.
A world away from north-coast crowds, tiny Sant'Angelo is the most chic spot on the island. Quiet laneways spill down the hill, flanked by chic boutiques, galleries, frangipani and sunning cats. At the bottom on Piazetta Ottorino Troia, tanned Italians sip Campari soda and take in late-night summer music concerts. Keeping an eye on it all is the great hulking scoglio (rock), joined to the village by a long sandbar sprinkle…
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Negombo
Recover from museum fatigue at Negombo. Part spa resort, part botanical wonderland, its combination of Zen-like thermal pools, hammam, contemporary sculpture and private beach on San Montano Bay draws a younger crowd than many other Ischian spa spots. There's a Japanese labyrinth pool for weary feet, a decent tavola calda (snack bar) for growling stomachs and enough massage and beauty treatments to keep you oooh-ing all day long. Those arriving by car or scooter can park on site for a small daily fee.
For a free dip in the bay, follow the signs to the spiaggia (beach) out the front of Negombo.
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Giardini Pubblici
On Corso Vittoria Colonna, past Via F D'Avalos, emerald-green gates on the left lead into the lush Giardini Pubblici. Head further east and you'll hit the heart-stealing Spiaggia dei Pescatori (Fishermen's Beach), a technicolour spectacle of brightly painted fishing boats, bronzed flesh, lurid beach umbrellas and mothers on balconies calling in their chubby kids for lunch.
From here, Corso Vittoria Colonna becomes Via Pontano, ending at Via Seminario. Recently pedestrianised, Via Seminario is Ischia Ponte's prime passeggiata (stroll) strip, attracting the occasional film shoot.
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La Colombaia
The neo-Renaissance villa La Colombaia is the former pad of Italian film director Luchino Visconti. Born into one of Milan's wealthiest families in 1906, his 1969 film The Damned, about a wealthy German family that turns fascist, received an Academy Award nomination for best screenplay.
His recently restored whitewashed bachelor pad now houses an arts foundation, which includes a documentary library focussing on Visconti and cinema history, as well as costumes, set pieces and stills from his films. It's also a venue for the Ischia Film Festival.
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Museo Angelo Rizzoli
The Museo Archeologico di Pithecusae also houses the Museo Angelo Rizzoli, which pays homage to the man who turned humble little Lacco into a celebrity hotspot in the 1950s. Cool paparazzi shots and clippings of a Hitchcock-esque Rizzoli and his famous pals decorate rooms once host to the likes of Gina Lollabrigida, Grace Kelly and Federico Fellini.
Equally striking are the villa's gardens, complete with lemon trees, fountain, a children's playground and star-worthy views towards the Campi Flegrei.
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Terme Cavascuro
For a fabulously atmospheric spa experience, catch a water taxi to Cavascura (one way around €3.50) and follow the signs 300 metres down a rocky gorge to Terme Cavascuro. Wedged between soaring cliffs, this historic frills-free outdoor spa is Ischia's oldest. Soak in old Roman baths hewn into the cliff, sweat it out in a grotto, then (for an extra fee) top it all off with a mud wrap, manicure or massage. The sulphurous waters are reputedly beneficial for rheumatic, bronchial and skin conditions.
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Parco Termale Aphrodite Apollon
A spectacular, if partly strenuous, 2 km walk above the coast from Sant'Angelo also reaches the spa, passing on its way the faded luxury of Parco Termale Aphrodite Apollon. Beyond its ivy-clad entrance is a rambling complex of gyms, saunas, lush terraced gardens and 12 differently heated pools, including one for hydro-cycling. Beauty treatments include tailored kinesiology therapies, wine facials and soothing mud showers. Buffed and balanced, flaunt that new bod at the beach bar below.
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Santa Maria della Scala
On the shore stands the 15th-century watchtower Torre del Mare, now bell tower to Ischia's cathedral Santa Maria della Scala. The current church, designed by Antonio Massinetti and completed in 1751, stands on the site of two older churches, one built in the 13th century and the other in the 17th century. Inside its peeling interior you'll find the original 14th-century baptismal font, Romanesque wooden crucifix and an 18th-century canvas by Giacinto Diano.
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La Mortella
On the west coast, Ischia’s own Garden of Eden can be found at La Mortella. More than 1000 rare and exotic plants flourish in the grounds, which were designed by Russell Page and inspired by the Moorish gardens of Granada’s Alhambra in Spain. They were established by Sir William Walton, the late British composer, and his wife, who made La Mortella their home in 1949. Classical music concerts are staged in the gardens in spring and autumn.
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Chiesa di Santa Maria del Soccorso
On the western edge of town, perched high above the sea, the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Soccorso is a Tex-Mex vision in white. The church was originally part of a 14th-century Augustinian monastery; its side chapel and dome were added in 1791 and 1854 respectively, the latter rebuilt after the 1883 earthquake. Most beautiful are the 18th-century mismatched majolica tiles adorning the semicircular staircase out the front. From here, the views are heavenly.
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Castello Aragonese
Ischia’s most famous landmark, the Castello Aragonese, sits on a rocky islet just off Ischia Ponte. A sprawling complex comprising a 14th-century cathedral and several smaller churches, it largely dates to the 1400s, when King Alfonso of Aragon gave an older Angevin fortress a makeover. Inside, the Museo delle Armi (Weaponry Museum) has a curious collection of torture tools, kinky illustrations and medieval armoury.
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Chiesa dell'Immocolata
The 18th-century Chiesa dell'Immocolata is well preserved with its Greek-cross plan and look-at-me dome studded with curved tympanum windows. Commissioned by the adjoining Convento delle Clarisse (Convent for Clarisse nuns; in town), it was left in its minimalist state after building funds ran out. When the nuns' own lives expired, they were left to decompose sitting upright on stone chairs in the macabre Cimitero delle Monache Clarisse.
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Ischia Sapori
This savvy little produce shop is the home of rucolino, a local, liquorice-flavoured digestive made with rucola (rocket). The recipe is a guarded secret, but the liquid is yours for the taking. The shop also sells its own wines, gourmet food stuffs, limoncello-soaked babà, olive-oil soaps, and fragrances, all reasonably priced and gorgeously packaged with trademark Italian flair.
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Convento delle Clarisse
The 18th-century Chiesa dell'Immocolata (in town) is well preserved with its Greek-cross plan and look-at-me dome studded with curved tympanum windows. Commissioned by the adjoining Convento delle Clarisse, it was left in its minimalist state after building funds ran out. When the nuns' own lives expired, they were left to decompose sitting upright on stone chairs in the macabre Cimitero delle Monache Clarisse.
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Imagaenaria
Charming and erudite, this little bookshop is also a local publishing house that prints a fetching series of mini-books dedicated to Ischian folklore, culture, history and nature in Italian. The shop also sells rare prints and lithographs of Ischia and Naples at a range of prices. The most expensive date back to the 1600s. Open until 21:00 in winter and 01:00 in summer for some serious late-night shopping.
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Da Roberto
Owners Roberto and Eugenia made the sea change from Belluno in the Veneto, an area famed for its skilled gelato makers. The proof is in the cone. Utterly superlative are the gran biscotti, crema della nonna and the Mozart chocolate and hazelnut combo. The semi-freddi (partially frozen desserts) are also made fresh on the premises and legitimise any gluttonous impulse.
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Antica Macelleria di Francesco Esposito
For a perfect picnic hamper head to this century-old deli. Drop in from 08:00 for fresh mozzarella and wood-fired casareccio bread. Fill the latter with a lip-smacking choice of cheeses, prosciutti, homemade peperoncino (chilli) salami and marinated peppers. Then wash it all down with a bottle of falanghina (dry white wine). Meraviglioso! (Marvellous!).
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L'Isoletto
Stock up on a mouthwatering selection of local produce, from spicy peperoncino (chilli), rum-soaked babà and lemon-cream cannoncelli (pastry filled with lemon cream) to Ischian vino and the ubiquitous limoncello. Less tasteful - but equally delicious - is a collection of kitsch tourist tack, from seashell placemats to 3-D souvenir wall plates.
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Chiesa di Santa Restituta
In Piazza Restituta you'll find the Terme Regina Isabella and pretty-in-pink Chiesa di Santa Restituta, rebuilt after the 1883 earthquake. According to legend, the martyred Restituta was washed ashore on nearby San Montano Beach in the 4th century on a boat steered from Tunisia by a seaworthy angel. Every May, residents re-enact her arrival on the beach.
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Zi Carmela
Clued-up locals head here for seafood dishes such as the fritturinaepezzogne (a local whitefish baked with potatoes and herbs in the wood-fired pizza oven) or tartare di palamito al profumo d’arancia (tartar of local fish with citrus). Eat in the sunny garlic-strung dining room or on the terrace overlooking the port.
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Museo Civico del Torrione
Long before the invasion of sarongs and sunscreen, Forio was the hapless target of medieval pirate raids. One of the 12 watchtowers built to defend its frazzled citizens houses the Museo Civico del Torrione . Dating from 1480, this former Bourbon prison now exhibits the works of painter and sculptor Giovanni Maltese, who once lived in the tower.
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Cattedrale dell'Assunta
Further up lie the sunbaked, stuccoed ruins of the 14th-century Cattedrale dell'Assunta. Built to replace the cathedral destroyed in the eruption of Monte Arso in 1301, it was restyled in the 18th century before collapsing under British canonfire in 1809. The 11th-century crypt below features snippets of 14th-century frescoes inspired by Giotto.
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