#feature Archives - American Press

Bubble, bubble – no toil, no trouble

Ischia warms the heart with thermal springs, splendid scenes

Mary Richardson / Special to American Press

"My arthritis is really getting bad," complained my husband."Ah," I said, looking up from my travel book about Italy. "I know just the cure. You obviously need to immerse yourself in a hot thermal bath, with volcanic-warmed water at 98 degrees with therapeutic minerals turning it a beautiful pea green color. I’ll book a room."And so I did — on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples. In Italy.We arrived at our spa, er, make that medical treatment facility, by flying to Rome (10 hours), catching the train to Naples (3 hours), taxiing to the harbor (15 scary minutes), and finally hydrofoiling across the Bay of Naples.Through the Internet, we had made contact with Giuseppe Patalano, who took us to one of his villas outside of Ischia’s largest town, Forio. He immediately filled the hot tub with hot volcano water. We were two tired Americans.We looked longingly at the bubbling water, but first we were introduced to the proper clothing for thermal bathers: All bathers must wear bathing caps.Luckily Giuseppe had some extras. I chose a tasteful turquoise and pink number, while Joe went in for navy blue flowers.The water was green with therapeutic minerals, mainly sulfur. Our guide book says that some are full of iodine. Good for the skin and nervous system?Another spa is said to be radioactive. Plain old sulfur sounded just fine to me. It would have been restful, except that I got the giggles whenever I looked at Joe’s bathing cap. (He never mentioned mine.)The water was wonderful. I’m not sure it cures arthritis, but I know for sure it cures jet lag.The next day we were able to explore the island. Giuseppe had rented a small Fiat Panda (31 euros a day) for us, and we zipped around all 18 square miles of the island.Ischia isn’t a household name for Americans, even though they know about its next-door island, Capri. But Germans have vacationed here for years.In fact, most of the road signs were in Italian and German — no English.Luckily we had borrowed a phrase book, which included road signs. We quickly learned the words for "One Way" and "Do Not Enter," right after we learned to say "biere" (beer) and "pizza" (pizza).Many Americans have seen Ischia, however, because it was the backdrop to about every scene in the movie "The Talented Mr. Ripley." In fact, you can stay at Il Moresco, where Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law stayed.For our money though, you can’t beat Giuseppe’s Villa Olivia. Our studio apartment, at $50 a night, had a view of the harbor and a balcony filled with geraniums and bougainvilleas. In the morning we could see steam rising from the foothills of Ischia’s tallest volcano, dormant since 1300.Giuseppe brought us fresh lemons, picked right off his trees.He also filled the hot tub morning and night with steaming thermal water for us. We had the use of the thermal swimming pools, and Giuseppe said that if we came back next year, he would arrange for mud bath treatments.The whole island was like a Mediterranean garden. Flowers bloomed everywhere. The beaches were inviting.We climbed the volcano to the top (after finding that Joe could maneuver the little Fiat Panda to within a one-hour hike to the summit).We explored castles, and we wandered through ancient streets.We learned some Italian. And some German ("bier," "pizza").We want to go back. Joe’s arthritis still lingers and needs another dose of sulfur. And I want to see him in that bathing cap again. *This story first appeared in the American Press on August 24, 2003Ischia Ponte is the oldest, least commercial and loveliest part of the port city of Ischia. The Castello Aragonese is in the background. (Joe Richardson/Special to the American Press)This fountain under a typical bouganvilla is located in one of the oldest areas of Ischia Ponte. Such quiet places for contemplation are hidden among the narrow streets throughout the island. (Joe Richardson/Special to the American Press)Sant’ Angelo one of the loveliest spots on the island. The little fishing village is connected to a small islet by an isthmus. The beach is lined with coffee shops that serve the best coffee in all of Italy. (Joe Richardson/Special to the American Press).