Ischia: The Chic Italian Island Neighboring Capri

I fell for Ischia well before I ever visited it in person. In the 1999 film “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” the scene where Tom, the main character, “happens” upon Marge and Dickie, the couple he is pursuing, was filmed beneath the island’s Aragonese castle on its golden beach (the Spiaggia dei Pescatori, the beach of the fishermen). The couple’s beautiful, tanned physiques and relaxed smiles, the perfect sand and tranquil sea, were a cinematic ad to move to Italy, and to Ischia, immediately.

Ischia is one of a trio of islands (known as the Phlegraeans) off Naples that also includes Capri and Procida. Capri’s size and popularity with day trippers means it can easily feel overrun and overexposed. Procida is the smallest of the three and has never gotten the attention of its siblings (although it too is worth a visit for its pastel villages and artisan workshops).

Ischia’s magic is that it’s suspended between the newly chic — with the recent overhaul of the Mezzatorre Hotel by the hotelier Marie-Louise Sció, who brought a crowd that had never heard of the island but were fans of her über-photogenic hotels — and the authentic. There are simple bars, beach clubs and harbors more likely to dock fishing boats than megayachts. With a surface area of almost 18 square miles, the island is home to a number of charming villages to explore like Forio, Ischia Ponte, Sant’Angelo and Casamicciola, among others. Add in natural thermal spas, lush vineyards and deserted coves, and it’s easy to see why Ischia is quickly become one of Italy’s rising destinations.

Taking the baths

My first morning on the island, it is raining so hard I head to the spa at Mezzatorre above Forio. Many of the properties on Ischia are built on top of the island’s thermal springs, a gift freely given by the still active volcano at the island’s heart. According to myth, Zeus vanquished Tifeo, one of the Titans who tried to attack Olympus, underground here and the trapped god’s angry breath created thermal springs and fumaroles. The spas here have a strong medical component and the main attractions are the island’s therapeutic mud and waters of various temperatures that gurgle their way from underground to combat rheumatism, respiratory issues and skin conditions like dermatosis. (At Castel Sant’Angelo, the beach is so hot that locals cook eggs and rabbit under the sand.)

Dr. Giulio Uggiano is Mezzatorre’s resident doctor, a kind older man who takes my blood…