Ischia: a lush island in the Bay of Naples

With its towering white cliffs, azure seas and ever-shifting flock of superyachts, the Italian island of Capri is "the ultimate stop on today's Grand Selfie Tour". But there's also another big island in the Bay of Naples, with less "glitz" and more "wild charm", and in my book, it's the pick of the pair, said Stephanie Rafanelli in Condé Nast Traveller. 

At 18 square miles, Ischia is four times the size of its neighbour – a place "to get lost in, not be seen". The Emperor Augustus swapped it for Capri with the rulers of Neapolis (as Naples was then known), turning the smaller island into his private paradise – and while Capri (however stunning its looks today) feels like a "relic", Ischia remains a chunk of the "real Italy", a "palpably living, breathing, life-giving place". A "complex volcano" that last erupted in 1302, Ischia rises to the "hikeable" 2,589ft peak of Mount Epomeo, and is peppered with hot springs, thermal aquifers and fumaroles (volcanic vents). 

Ischia's "fecund" volcanic soil and subtropical microclimate make it extraordinarily lush, with "wisteria, angel's trumpets and bougainvillea" cascading around its "steep, single-lane" roads. There's also an impressive array of "boutique" vineyards, and spas "for every taste" – from public parks with thermal springs to "smart design hotels" such as the Mezzatorre, which opened in 2019 and has a seafront wellness centre and an outdoor salt pool "fanned by pines". Inland, the "rustic" Fonte delle Ninfe Nitrodi is thought to be the world's oldest spa, dating back to the days of Magna Graecia. 

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Tourism took off on Ischia in the 1950s, and producers began using it as a film location. The director Luchino Visconti hosted salons at his home here, and Burton and Taylor came here to shoot scenes for Cleopatra. But ordinary life still flourishes on the island's streets (where pensioners congregate on benches and local boys launch into spontaneous football games) – as it does on the neighbouring island of Procida, a tiny place "as pretty as a sweet shop" that has changed little since the 1960s.