It’s a blazing September afternoon and I’m bobbing in 95-degree Fahrenheit hot springs. I’m not in a bathhouse but in a naturally formed sea pool on the shoreline of the Italian island Ischia. I swim farther out into the open water where the temperatures are deliciously cool, before returning to the pool’s balmy embrace closer to shore, repeating the process over and over again until my muscles and mind go slack.
This volcanic island, rising from the Tyrrhenian Sea like a primordial slumbering giant and about an hour by ferry from Naples, is one of Italy’s oldest wellness destinations. Its network of natural hot springs have enticed people since antiquity.
The ancient Greeks were the first to harness the thermal waters when they settled Ischia, then known as Pithekoussai, in the 8th century B.C.E. A few hundred years later, the Romans built public baths around the springs and transformed the island (which they’d renamed Aenaria) into a spa destination for the elite. The mineral-rich waters, full of iodine, potassium, and calcium, were sought out for their purported healing abilities.
Today, Italians—and visitors—can experience this ancient hydrothermal heritage at natural caves, in coastal rock pools, and at modern thermal parks across the island.
Take the waters
The Baia di Sorgeto, where I was swimming, is a natural cove on the island’s southwestern side. Underground hot springs bubble up through cracks in the cliffs, creating rock-lined pools of varying temperatures. Close to the shore, the water can reach a scalding 194 degrees Fahrenheit—islanders have cooked potatoes, eggs, and seafood in it for centuries. But further out, the heat is tempered by the chill of the Tyrrhenian.
The cove has no facilities (apart from a small kiosk selling snacks and drinks, only open in the summer), and the waters are freckled with rocks that are slippery with algae and dotted with sharp barnacles, so don’t forget to bring water shoes.
At Terme di Cavascura, a rustic day-spa located in a ravine in the south of the island, the heat-loving Romans developed natural caves into pools and baths two millennia ago. Today, you can soak in the same grottoes and indulge in volcanic mud treatments. For something more contemporary, Poseidon Gardens is the island’s largest modern thermal park; it features a private beach and more than 20 pools ranging in temperatures. Negombo Thermal Park, on the northeast tip of the island, has a spa, several thermal pools, and gardens dotted with contemporary art.
Related: The Best Hot Springs Hotels Around the World for a Soothing Soak
Beyond the baths
In addition to its historic buildings, Castello Aragonese has a bookshop and cafés and hosts concerts and art exhibitions throughout the year.
Photos by Asia London Palomba
Ischia is mountainous and carpeted with lush vegetation, earning it the nickname l’isola verde, or the green island. Alongside its hot springs, Ischia is renowned across Italy for its beaches, which range from large bays with silky sand to small coves framed by dense Mediterranean shrub.
The Castello Aragonese is a 2,500-year-old castle on an islet connected to Ischia by a pedestrian bridge. The fortress condenses the island’s tangled history of successive waves of Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Norman, Spanish, and Bourbon invasions into one site explored via a self-guided, signposted route. Guided tours are also available. The castle’s historic convents, prisons, and gardens are open to visitors, alongside a rooftop bar with panoramic views of the Gulf of Naples.
Also not to be missed are the botanical gardens of Giardini La Mortella in Forio and Il Pirata Ceramiche Artische, a ceramics shop in the fishing village of Sant’Angelo, which has been handcrafting colorful pottery since 1978.
Related: 21 Islands Where Italians Actually Go to Vacation
Where to eat
The fertile farmland of Azienda Agricola Ruffano has been cultivated since the early 20th century.
Photos by Asia London Palomba
Despite being an island, Ischia’s signature dish is land based: coniglio all’Ischitana, a slow-cooked rabbit stew of tomatoes, white wine, and aromatic herbs. Try it at the family-run Trattoria il Focolare, located in the hills of Faiano. The restaurant was featured in Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy.
For farm-to-table dining, the family-run winery, resort, and restaurant Azienda Agricola Ruffano teeters on a cliff overlooking the Baia di Sorgeto. Here, at a simple wooden table, I had the perfect Italian summer lunch: thick wedges of juicy cantaloupe draped with thinly sliced prosciutto, bruschetta piled with sweet tomatoes drizzled in good olive oil, and a crostone topped with anchovies, eggplant, and lettuce.
Where to stay
Il Monastero, occupying a former convent on the Castello Aragonese estate, is about 20 minutes’ drive from Terme di Cavascura. Room interiors are a touch spartan but offer large windows framing views of the Bay of Naples. The castle is located in the village of Ischia Ponte, the island’s historic heart, and is a five-minute walk from bars, restaurants, and shops. The village was a key setting for Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend literary series.
Related: How to Experience Elena Ferrante’s Naples—and Ischia, Too
For more seclusion, consider the grand Mezzatore Hotel & Thermal Spa in Forio, which perches above a private bay in a 16th-century watchtower, or the sprawling San Montano Spa & Resort, which sits on a rocky outcrop overlooking the beach and town of Lacco Ameno.
