“Andar per sentieri” returns to Ischia: 10 must-see itineraries on the green island

From April 25 to May 1, the hiking event: guided tours to discover hidden places and beautiful bays. A unique opportunity for those in the mood for spring

Discovering the island through its paths and its thousand souls, climbing the slopes of Epomeo that are colored with the chromatic shades of spring or traveling almost suspended between sky and sea, from the village of Campagnano at Piano Liguori, where the Aragonese Castle looks as if you could almost grasp it with your hand, poetic suggestion.
In the spring, Ischia is discovered on foot, as per the claim of “Andar per Sentieri“, the event that, under the direction of the Pro Loco Panza, this year celebrates its ninth edition: a date from April 25 to May 1, a proven format that takes visitors by the hand, metaphorically, inviting them to explore the island’s hinterland, which is green par excellence (because of the tuff, its geological hallmark, but also because of its vegetation, which in these weeks is irresistibly thriving again).
Ten different hikes, with different degrees of difficulty, for one common denominator: the trek. Acacia groves and volcanoes half-sleepers, the charm of stone houses and ancient cellars, repositories of the centuries-old ritual of the grape harvest. And more: fumaroles and flower meadows, dense forests and flat expanses. Per i turisti “Andar per Sentieri” è un viaggio esperienziale irrinunciabile, condotto da guide ambientali escursionistiche, attraverso l’anima profonda del territorio.
And it will then seem as if we are retracing paths already trodden (and exalted) by great writers and artists since the time of the Grand Tour.

In the wake of the great explorers of the past

Truman Capote was, for example, won over by those “paths that climb up into the middle of the rows where there are whole swarms of bees and where lizards bake in the sun on the leaves that are about to sprout.” Even legendary is the climb to Epomeo by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, who could not resist the temptation to sip the village wine. What about, then, the writer Erri De Luca, who has repeatedly confessed that he became a man here in Ischia, walking its paths with passionate tenacity? So much so that he dedicated to the mountain, to Epomeo, a real hymn of love: “It was he, Epomeo, who put the mountains inside my sleeps: only up there did I know that I was a resident on earth, an extension of the summit soil like a branch on a tree, a wave on the rock“. Chapeau.
The opportunity is therefore propitious to choose one or more itineraries (the program can be found at www.prolocopanzaischia.it , info and reservations 081 908436), all enhanced by tastings of typical dishes. Because food, here more than anywhere else, is an expression of the land.

Strolling through lighthouses and enchanted bays

And this year, moreover, there is no shortage of novelties. Beginning with the route through the Zaro forest, among the green lungs of the island, with an unfailing stop at Villa La Colombaia, former residence of Luchino Visconti, master of neorealism, who was particularly attached to Ischia. And again: trekking along the promontory of Punta Imperatore, which stretches out toward the Pontine archipelago promising unforgettable sunsets, to be witnessed perhaps from the Lighthouse, the final landing place of the itinerary, today an exclusive luxury resort and in turn the custodian of timeless stories, not least that of its keeper, Lucia Capuano, made immortal by an extraordinary performance by actress Lucianna De Falco, her proud descendant: the first female farista, the last keeper of one of the most extraordinary lighthouses in the Mediterranean. Because exploring the places of Ischia means, above all, going back in time.