Photo Gallery: Ischia, Italy -- National Geographic Traveler

Seaside Waiter
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
A waiter is kept busy serving just some of the many tourists who flock to Ischia for its beaches, robust Southern Italian cuisine, and year-round thermal spas. The tourist boom, author Lorenzo Carcaterra writes, only started in the 1960s, after Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton conducted a scandalous, paparazzi-hounded affair while on the island filming Cleopatra.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Beach Tennis
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
A day on the beach ends with a game of beach tennis in the main town of Porto d'Ischia. Most visitors arrive on the island at Porto via hydrofoil from Naples.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Cactus Flowers
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
Cacti and other typical Mediterranean flora including succulents and palms can be found throughout Ischia, and especially in lush gardens, like the Giardini Ravino.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Ischia Ponte
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
The view of Ischia Ponte from Castello Aragonese—whose thick walls once repelled pirates—draws romantics and sightseers.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Hotel Regina Isabella
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
At the Hotel Regina Isabella, in Lacco Ameno, maitre d' Vincenzo Pilato chats with the barman, Antonio Orru. The hotel's fine dining restaurant is known for its fresh seafood dishes prepared by chef Pasquale Palamaro.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Thermal Baths
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
The thermal baths at Giardini Poseidon are the most famous of Ischia's baths. Visitors come for a day of hot mud baths and soothing massages.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Pool Chairs
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
Colorful lounge chairs await sun worshippers, which have often included celebrities like Charles Bronson, Alain Delon, Clint Eastwood, and Marcello Mastroianni who all vacationed on the island in the 1960s.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Wedding
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
A wedding in Porto d'Ischia is in tune with the island's romance-laden reputation. Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon liked Ischia so much they set a comedy, Avanti!, on its shores. More recently, The Talented Mr. Ripley was filmed on the island.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Water Taxi
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
A water taxi ferries guests around Ischia, the largest island in the Bay of Naples and with a population of some 60,000. Here, life is shaped by the sea and the bounty it brings.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Procession
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
For two days in September, residents of the fishing town of Sant' Angelo celebrate the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, parading his statue from the cathedral to the town square.
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.
Fireworks
Photograph by Massimo Bassano
Fireworks cap off the festival of St. Michael the Archangel in the town of Sant' Angelo, on the south coast of Ischia. "There's only one place like Ischia in the world," says boat captain Antonio Rumore. "It's as simple as it is beautiful. And the greatest pleasures grow out of that."
Read "Island of Memories" in the September 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.