This tour includes Hydrofoils tickets Sorrento/Ischia round trip - Mercedes/minivan for a sightseeing on the Ischia island -Tour guide all day long
Poseidon entrance tickets are NOT included .
You will meet our local English-speaking guide at your accommodation to walk to the port of Sorrento or Naples, but if it is too far, it is possible to arrange a transfer – extra charge. As soon as you arrive at Ischia island, at Ischia Porto you will meet the driver waiting for you and you’ll have the chance of enjoying 90 minutes of sightseeing of the Ischia island with the guide: along the way you can stop and get of for taking photos. After that, you can spend 3 hours and 30 minutes of relax in the Poseidon thermal complex. Then, back to the port and by jetfoil you’ll return to Sorrento or Naples.
ISCHIA:
Ischia was called by the Greeks Pithecusae that is monkey island (alluding to the mythical Cercopi inhabitants of volcanic lands) and by the Romans enaria (perhaps because the wine growing). First trading outpost of the Greeks in the Mediterranean, the island of Ischia experienced between VIII and III century BC a period of great splendour, rich in cultural exchanges with the Italic and Oriental people. Declined due to the advance of Cuma and then Neapolis, Ischia was later occupied by Geron of Syracuse and used as a base for its fleet. As attested by archaeological finds relating to settlements in the east, in the Hellenistic period the Romans rediscovered the island, attracted by the excellent geographical location, the fertility of the land and the mineral waters.
Today this Neapolitan island of volcanic origin is well-known, above all, for its thermal waters and amazing beaches. In connection with the volcanic activity, on the island of Ischia there are indeed numerous hot springs with various healing properties. In the XVI century, they were examined and studied with scientific method by the doctor Giulio Iasolino who discovered that on the island were some 56 different mineral water springs, in addition to the many sources of steam. Anyway you realise right away of Ischia volcanic origins as soon as you enter Ischia Porto - the port of Ischia island- , which is perfectly circular, like Monte Epomeo, another volcano of the island now extinct.
The most impressive historical monument in Ischia is the famous Aragonese Castle, which stands on a volcanic rock, like a small island. This rock reaches the height of 113 meters above the sea level and it has an area of approximately 56.000 square meters. The Aragonese castle was built by Geron of Syracuse and was transformed into a fortress during the Angevin domination when it was closed by massive walls. Later, Alfonso of Aragon built the bridge that still connects the small island to the main island. Inside the walls of the castle, you can admire the ruins of the cathedral (XIV century), inside whose crypt there are frescoes of Giotto school and the Church of the Immaculate with the adjoining convent of the Poor Clares (XVIII century) in whose basement is the macabre cemetery of the nuns. In 1509, at the Castle was celebrated the marriage between Ferrante d’Avalos and Vittoria Colonna, who, widowed, composed in Ischia the love sonnets that made her famous. It is said that these verses impressed Michelangelo to the point that he went to live in the Tower of Guevara, located in front of the Castle and known today as the Tower of Michelangelo.
Apart from the beautiful beaches and the spas, Ischia is interesting also for its Monte Epomeo, Ischia, and Biancolella red and white wine.
Noteworthy is definitely the so-called Nestor’s cup, a cup imported from Rhodes and found in a tomb in a ancient necropolis of Ischia. On the cup was engraved in Euboean alphabet an epigram in three verses alluding to the famous Nestor’s cup described in the Iliad: this finding dates back to VIII century BC and it is one of the oldest examples of alphabetic writing. In addition, it is the only extant example of a piece of poetry in contemporary writing to the very composition of the Iliad. Today the so-called Nestor’s cup is kept in the Archaeological Museum of Pithecusae in Lacco Ameno at Ischia.
