Ischia: Thermal Springs & Wine

The island of thermal springs and volcanic wines. Romans built baths here to heal after battle, drinking local wine for health. Today, soak in ancient-style thermal pools while sipping Biancolella from volcanic soils.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Find the Cup That Made the Greeks Invent the Symposium History · Price: low

   The oldest Greek writing in Italy lives in a small museum in Lacco Ameno. It's a wine cup. The inscription will stop you cold.

   In 1954, archaeologists digging in the San Montano cemetery pulled a small wine cup from a 2,700-year-old grave. Three lines, written right to left: 'Whoever drinks from this cup, desire for beautifully crowned Aphrodite will seize him instantly.' This was the founding ritual of the symposium — the Greek institution of communal wine-drinking that shaped Western civilization, invented here by Euboean colonists who called the place Pithecusae. The Museo Archeologico di Pithecusae (Villa Arbusto, Corso Angelo Rizzoli 194, Lacco Ameno, entry €8) displays this Cup of Nestor — one of the oldest surviving examples of the Greek alphabet ever found. Ask at the entrance for the Coppa di Nestore and stand in front of the inscription that changed history.

   Backup: Even if you rush this museum, the cup is always displayed — it's the centrepiece. Give yourself at least 45 minutes. The whole island story lives here.

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2. 2 Drink Biancolella With the Only Woman Making Wine on the Island Wine · Price: high

   Tommasone Vini has been here since the 1700s. Today it's run by Lucia Monti — oenologist, the sole female wine producer on all of Ischia. The tasting happens on a terrace above the sea.

   The winery buildings at Tommasone Vini (Lacco Ameno area) date to the 1700s — 250 years of this volcanic soil being coaxed into wine. Lucia Monti, the only female winemaker on the island today, leads every tasting on the panoramic terrace (or in the antique barrique cellar if weather turns). The Biancolella arrives straw-gold, smelling of apricot and wild herbs — but here's what nobody tells you: that grape's DNA has been traced back to a Greek farm buried by volcanic eruption 2,700 years ago on this exact island. Email ahead to book via tommasonevini.it (tours from €65/person, reservation mandatory). Ask Lucia specifically about the Frassitelli Biancolella and compare it to Casa d'Ambra's version — both from the same volcanic green tuff, different microclimates.

   Backup: If Tommasone is fully booked, Casa d'Ambra (dambravini.com, Via Mario d'Ambra 16, Forio) runs tours Tue/Thu/Fri 10am from €35. Founded 1888 by Francesco 'Don Ciccio' D'Ambra — four generations, same volcanic soil.

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3. 3 Soak in Thermal Pools, Then Drink Wine in a Cave Carved Into Volcanic Rock Adventure · Price: moderate

   Giardini Poseidon Terme: 22 thermal pools above the sea at Citara Bay. Inside the park, a wine grotto cut directly into the volcanic tuff serves Ischian DOC wines with a view of the Gulf of Naples.

   Thermal waters rise from volcanic vents at 25–85°C before being channelled into 22 terrace pools overlooking the sea at Giardini Poseidon Terme (Via Giovanni Mazzella 87, Forio, admission €45 full day). Inside the grounds, look for the Grotta del Vino: a wine grotto carved directly into the tuff cliff face, serving wine by the glass from local Ischian producers — Biancolella, Forastera, Per'e Palummo — along with local cheese and salumi. This is the Roman experience in its most honest form: volcanic water on your skin, volcanic-soil wine in your glass, the Gulf of Naples in front of you. Arrive at 9am to claim a sun bed on the highest terrace, soak through mid-morning, then find the grotta by noon when the park fills up.

   Backup: Negombo (Via S. Montano 8, Lacco Ameno, €50–70) is quieter and set in the Bay of San Montano — a perfect protected cove. No wine grotto but equally stunning thermal pools with sea access.

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4. 4 Climb the Volcano and Eat Lunch Where the Mountain Was Hollowed Out by Hand Adventure · Free

   Monte Epomeo is 789 metres of active volcanic rock. At the summit, a hermitage and restaurant were carved from the green tuff over 500 years. The restaurant costs €20–30. The climb is free.

   The mountain's name in dialect means 'the one that smokes.' At Monte Epomeo's summit: the Eremo di San Nicola, a hermitage chapel cut into the cliff in the early 1400s, and La Grotta da Fiore, a restaurant hacked directly into the mountainside — both carved from solid volcanic tuff. The trailhead starts at Fontana village (3km, 400m vertical, approximately 1h30 up), or hire a horse from the Miscillo souvenir shop. The white wine is local and poured in bulk at the summit restaurant — ask for Biancolella if they have it by the glass. On a clear day you see Capri, Procida, Vesuvius, and the entire Gulf of Naples. Start early (7:30–8am) to beat the heat and have the summit to yourself.

   Backup: If the hike is not possible, the views from the Poseidon Terme terraces at Citara Bay or from Ischia Porto's waterfront give a clear sightline to Monte Epomeo's silhouette — enough to understand the volcanic scale.

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5. 5 Eat the Dish That Required a Whole Bolus of Garlic, Wine, and 400 Years of Practice Wine · Price: low

   Coniglio all'Ischitana is Ischia's signature dish. Slow Food Foundation recognized. It's cooked with Biancolella wine, wild island herbs, and an entire head of garlic in a clay pot. Trattoria Il Focolare has the definitive version.

   For centuries, the island ran wild with rabbits — so Ischians turned them into the kind of dish that takes all afternoon. At Trattoria Il Focolare (Via Cretaio al Crocefisso 3, Barano d'Ischia, tel 081 902944), the rabbit is seared first in a copper pan, then slow-cooked in a clay coccio with vine-ripened tomatoes, an entire head of local garlic, wild piperna herb (grows only here), and a glass of Biancolella or Piedirosso wine. The Slow Food Foundation officially recognized their recipe. Order the coniglio fossa all'ischitana nel coccio (the clay pot version) and ask for Per'e Palummo red — the island's Piedirosso, made from the grape whose vine leaves resemble pigeon feet. Call ahead; rabbit is sometimes prepared on request for dinner.

   Backup: If Il Focolare is closed or full, Ristorante Montecorvo in the Forio hills does a similar version in a beautiful terrace setting. Most island restaurants serve coniglio — but the clay pot preparation is the authentic one.

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Insider tips

• Casa d'Ambra is the benchmark Ischia producer - visit their cellar

• Negombo thermal park combines beaches, gardens, and thermal pools

• The mountain village of Serrara Fontana has the best traditional wine taverns

• Take the funicular up Monte Epomeo for panoramic views over vineyards