ONE of POSITANO'S MOST BEAUTIFUL HOTELS
Across the water from Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Ischia has drawn visitors to its mineral-rich thermal waters since Roman times and, more recently, has been thrust into the spotlight by Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels and the HBO series inspired by them, My Brilliant Friend.
“Most people know the nearby island of Capri, but I also point my clients to Ischia – it’s authentic Italy,” says Diana Traficante, a Virtuoso travel advisor. “Capri is beautiful, but its center is full of designer shops and can get very crowded,” she adds. “Ischia is nothing like that. It’s salt-of-the-earth Italian, perfect for someone who likes a five-star experience but prefers to fly under the radar. If I could move there, I would.”
Filmed in both Naples and Ischia, HBO Max’s drama – based on Italian author Elena Ferrante’s novel of the same name, the first installment in her best-selling Neapolitan Quartet – tells the coming-of-age story of two close friends, Elena Greco and Lila Cerullo, from the time they’re girls playing with dolls through adolescence. When Elena, the novel’s narrator and protagonist, travels from gritty postwar Naples during a summer break in her mid-teens and first visits Ischia, she feels liberated. “I was free,” she says. “I could sit on the terrace and read with the sea in front of me, or walk along a steep white road toward a long, wide, dark beach.”
It’s this sense of openness, serenity, and possibility, as I learned during my own recent visit, that captures travelers the moment they arrive on Ischia. Though the compact, volcanic isle (roughly five miles wide and four miles long) is best known for its therapeutic hot springs, Ischia offers a trove of additional cultural attractions, all meant to be savored at a leisurely pace.
The best way to enjoy the island may very well be reading Ferrante’s books on an expansive beach while listening to gently lapping waves, inhaling the salt-scented air, and gazing at the indigo Tyrrhenian Sea. But when your reading is done, be sure to experience Ischia’s other treasures firsthand, starting with the following sites.
Overlooking the sea in the town of Forio on Ischia’s west coast, the Chiesa del Soccorso is an ancient whitewashed church, founded as an Augustinian monastery in the 1300s, that served as a beacon for sailors returning home. The fictional Elena is taken here by friend (and future boyfriend) Nino Sarratore, who tells her that she’ll always remember the view.
In 1301, islanders fled to the ancient Castello Aragonese d’Ischia to escape a volcanic eruption, and in later years used it to protect against marauding pirates. Occupying a volcanic rocky islet, which connects to the village of Ischia Ponte via a short land bridge, the formidable castle has luminous frescoes inspired by the fourteenth-century Florentine painter Giotto. From its lofty terraces, you can see the Gulf of Naples and a series of volcanoes.
In The Story of a New Name, Ferrante’s follow-up to My Brilliant Friend, Lila travels to Ischia at the request of her husband, who hopes the salubrious atmosphere and mineral-rich baths will enable his teenage bride to become pregnant. In fact, though there’s no proof that the springs increase fertility, they’re credited with easing a host of ailments, including circulatory issues and arthritis. Two five-star resorts on the island, Mezzatorre and Terme Manzi, are both renowned for their hydrotreatments, which use thermal waters from their private springs. At Negombo Thermal Gardens, a day spa overlooking the beach at San Montano, guests can dip into a dozen different thermal pools, each heated to a different temperature.
Ischia’s winemaking roots reach back more than 2,500 years, to Greek times. A worthy stop on any island winery tour, Cenatiempo Vini d’Ischia, for example, operates on the site of an old Greek vineyard. During tours of its Kalimera plantation, the family-run organic winery provides guests with a selection of their wines (be sure to try the rosato and gran Tifeo bianco), accompanied by fresh food grown in their gardens. Pasquale Cenatiempo, the affable and engaging proprietor, advises visitors not to rush to their next stop. And with his willingness to keep pouring, he’s right – why hurry?
Established in 1880, Perrazzo Vini d’Ischia is purported to be the island’s oldest wine vendor. Located at Ischia’s port, the shop has a long grotto built into a hillside nearly 2,000 years ago by Romans to serve as a wine cellar. Rustic bottles and winemaking equipment from decades past decorate the cave, which stays around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the wine on Ischia is white, its flavors a product of the volcanic terroir, which lends a crisp, mineral taste; you can sip local varietals such as biancolella and forastera before buying. For a souvenir, pick up a bottle of Rucolino, a distinctively piquant Ischian liqueur made from arugula, citrus, and spices.
In the mid-twentieth century, British composer William Walton put his Bentley on a ferry and moved to Ischia with his wife. At their five-acre home near Forio, they grew myrtle bushes (whose leaves and berries flavor mortella, a potent Italian liqueur), as well as orchids, rosemary, and lavender. Today, the property, La Mortella Gardens, is open to all – visitors can stroll past fountains and ponds along hillside paths, as honeysuckle scents the air.
For a watery view of Ischia, hop from one coastal village to another via a private boat tour. Your travel advisor can work with one of Virtuoso’s on-site tour connections, I.D.I. Travel, to craft a daylong itinerary tailored to your tastes. A few suggestions: Maronti, a thermal beach with sand so hot that locals bury pots in it to cook stews, and nearby Sant’Angelo, a car-free fishing hamlet that’s home to mom-and-pop restaurants with umbrella-shaded tables on a seaside piazza.
PASTICCERIA PANSA
AMALFI
Pasticceria Pansa. Why not start here? This is not only one of the Best Italian Pastry Shops in the area, but one of the Best in all of Italy. this place is First Rate, with its beautiful Pastry Shop Caffe inside, that dates back to 1830, to the amazing array of exquisite Pastries in the Show Cases. Grab a seat ourside or in and order an Espresso or Cappuccino and treat yourself to one of their World Class Desserts. Get a Delizia di Lemone (Lemon Cake) or a Cunchy SFOGLIATELLE that was invented by Nuns at a Convent in the nearby town of CONCA dei MARINI. You'll be doing as good as anyone could wish for. It's so good, you'll probably go back 2 or 3 times. "I did."
.
Look at The Beautiful Bar and Cases Full of Tasty Pastries !
"Can Anyone Resist ?"
.
TAVERNA APOSTOLI ... Amalfi
TAVERNA APOSTOLI is My Kind of Place
"I knew i as soon as I saw this."
.
Could You Resist This ?
TAVERNA APOSTOLI
AMALFI
How They Do FISH at TAVERNA APOSTOLI
AMALFI
.
Inside Taverna degli Apostoli
AMALFI
.
A Check at Taverna Apostoli
AMALFI
CATCH of THE dAY
Taverna degli Apostoli
AMALFI
Lo SMERALDINO
AMALFI
Los Smeraldino is a great restaurant with an amazing view out on the Terrace. You can get an amazing seafood meal here, including a great plate of Spaghetti Vongole. Try it!
SPAGHETTI VONGOLE
at La SPAGNOLA
SALERNO
ITALY
2018
Da VINCENZO
POSITANO
..
Me at Da VINCENZO
Summer 2015
POSITANO
ITALY
SPAGHETTI VONGOLE
O ' PULEDRONE , Marina Grande , SORRENTO
If in Sorrento, this is a wonderful little trattoria to have a nice Seafood Lunch or Dinner. It is a family run restaurant. Michael and his brother are Fishermen who catch what you will be eating for your meal. Everything is wonderful, and what's more authentic than a place t That catches their own Fish? It's all super fresh, caught in the morning and on your table for lunch or dinner.
Any type of seafood Antipasti is great, including a mixed seafood antipasto or simply a plate of Cozze Posilipo or Cozze Pepate. Have some Grilled Octopus, Fritto misto (mixed Fried Fish) or a plate of Spaghetti with Clam Sauce (Vongole), "it's all good."
.
CETARA
This is a True to Life Authentic Fishing Village, a few minutes from Salerno. Go to any Trattoria here for a great plate of Spaghetti Vongole and one of the Best Seafood Meals you'll have in your entire life. The town is famous for its Alici (Anchovies) and Tonno (Tuna), but that's not all they have, it's all good, and as Fresh as Fresh can be.
A Fisherman tends his Nest in CETARA.
LUCIAMADRE
The name of the boat is "My Mother Lucia"
. .
One of The Most Delicious Plates of SPAGHETTI VONGOLE I've Ever Had
After I took the Clams out of the Shells
Da MARINO
NAPOLI
2015
.
The BEST SPAGHETTI VONGOLE Ever !!!
Da MARINO
NAPOLI
.
TRATTORIA MENU
CETARA
.
A CHEF PREPARES The DAILY CATCH
A TRATTOriA in CETARA
POSITANO The AMALFI COAST
COOKBOOK / TRAVEL GUIDE
Inside TRAVEL INFO
And BEST RECIPES
Of The AMALFI COAST
CASA BUONOCORE POSITANO INFO & RESERVATIONS CASA BUONOCORE BEAUTIFUL VIEWS POSITANO A TASTY BREAKFAST To START YOUR DAY CASA BUONOCORE...
