Ischia Porto And Ischia Ponte

Ischia Porto’s helpful tourist office is right by the quayside ferry ticket offices (Mon-Sat 9am-2pm & 3-8pm; tel 081.507.4211, www.ischiaonline.it ); the bus terminus , with buses going to all other parts of the island, is just behind here. There are plenty of accommodation options, though bear in mind that many close in low season. The Monastero , high in the castello in Ischia Ponte (tel 081.992.435, www.castelloaragonese.it ; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98), is perfect if you fancy a bit of seclusion and has tremendous views; it’s due to be renovated, though the owner, an accomplished painter whose work adorns the walls, plans to maintain the simple austerity of the rooms, which once were the nuns’ cells. Ischia Porto is better for access to the island’s nightlife: the Rosita , Via Quercia 38 (tel 081.993.875; L60,000-90,000/¬30.99-46.48), is a good-value choice a large place in a lush garden, two minutes from the bus terminus - as is the clean and appealing Antonio Macri , off the portside at Via Jasolino 96 (tel 081.992.603; L90,000-120,000/¬46.48-61.98). Towards the pricier end of the scale is the Hotel Continental Mare , west of town at Via B. Cossa 25 (tel 081.982.577, fax 081.992.505, http://contimare.leohotels.it ; L150,000-200,000/¬77.47-103.29) which enjoys a splendid location above the sea and its own stretch of beach. Best of all though, is luxurious Il Moresco (tel 081.981.355, fax 081.992.338, www.ilmoresco.it ; over L400,000/¬206.58), Via E. Gianturco 16, where Gwyneth, Jude et al stayed during the making of The Talented Mr Ripley . Housed in an elegant 1950s villa in the heart of Ischia Porto, but still managing to feel secluded, it boasts lovely swimming and thermal pools, comfortable rooms and friendly, attentive service.

For eating , Mastù Peppe , right by the tourist office and ferry quay (closed Mon), is cheap and quite good though the service can be slow; with a little more money, try Gennaro , crossways the harbour at Via Porto 64 (no closing day) where the food can be terrific but is rather hit or miss. For a real splash-out option, go for the superb Alberto , right on the seafront on Viale C. Colombo - the pretty restaurant, on stilts, over the sea, has immaculate service and beautifully presented seafood. In Ischia Ponte, Cocogelo Alberto (open daily), just to the right of the causeway which leads to the castello , has lovely sea views and dishes up great seafood.

As for nightlife , head for the lively run of late-night bars and cafés along Via Porto; best is the Millennium Bar which has a free dancefloor as well as serving during the day as a café with Internet access (2pm till late).

The main town of Ischia is ISCHIA PORTO , where most of the ferries dock, an appealing stretch of hotels, ritzy boutiques and beach shops planted with lemon trees and Indian figs fronted by golden sands: Spiaggia San Pietro is to the right of the port, accessible by following Via Buonocore off Via Roma; and the inexplicably titled Spiaggia degli Inglesi , on the other side of the port, is reachable by way of the narrow path that leads over the headland from the end of Via Jasolino. Otherwise the main thing to do is to window-shop and stroll along the main Corso Vittoria Colonna, either branching off to a further beach, the Spiaggia dei Pescatori , or following it all the way down to the other part of Ischia’s main town, ISCHIA PONTE , a quieter and less commercialized centre. Here the focus is the Castello Aragonese (March to mid-Nov 9.30am till sunset; L12,000/¬6.20, includes the lift to the top), which crowns an offshore rock but is accessible from a short causeway; its stunningly distinctive pyramid was one of the backdrops in the film The Talented Mr Ripley . Vittoria Colonna, the Renaissance poet and close friend of Michelangelo, spent much of her life here, following the seizure of her family’s land by Alexander VI. The citadel itself where she lived is rather tumbledown now and closed to the public, but below is a complex of buildings, almost a separate village really, around which you can stroll. There’s the weird open shell of a cathedral destroyed by the British in 1806, a prison that once held political prisoners during the upheavals of the Unification, and the macabre remnants of a convent, in which a couple of dark rooms ringed with a set of commode-like seats served as a cemetery for the dead sisters - placed here to putrefy in front of the living members of the community.