LA DOLCE VITA

ISCHIA

Neapolitans have been holidaying on Ischia for years but their reluctance to share their secret means the thermal island still feels off the beaten track.

WHEN THE CROWDS are heading for nearby Capri, those in the know spend sultry summer days on this little island that cocoons everything from rejuvenating hot springs to fabulous beaches inside its coastline. Ischia has avoided a tourist takeover and managed to retain its authentic Italian charm, regardless of whether you’re wandering the towns of the north or the fishing villages of the south. The beaches are peaceful, unruly bougainvillea spills over the town’s rugged white walls and pavement lunches last long into the afternoon, caprese salads made with milky mozzarella and bulbous red tomatoes.

Ischia was a little-known island until the 1950s, when Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were spotted smooching in the Tyrrhenian Sea. While the star couple put Ischia on the map, it still lacks the crowds. For such a small island, it covers all bases in terms of scenery. The hillsides of Monte Epomeo still feel wonderfully wild, scented with rosemary and pine. The spa towns of Ischia Porto, Ischia Ponte and Lacco Ameno attract most visitors to the north coast, while the south still feels like a local secret, all kids’ kickabouts on the beach and boats with peeling paint draped in fishing nets. Just across the water, midday bakes mysterious Castello Aragonese in hot Italian sun, while inside its 15th-century walls offer shade that makes the walk across from the mainland worthwhile.

Next time a cruise takes you to Naples, skip the queues for the ferry to Capri and get to know your new favourite Campanian isle instead.

OLBIA

Sunny Sardinia boasts some of Italy’s best beaches and Olbia is the gateway to some of the most sought-after.

THE DESTINATION'S FINE sand and crystalline waters are as good as any you will find in the Caribbean; little wonder then that the rich and famous head here for their European escapes. When VIPs who can holiday anywhere in the world choose to holiday here, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Beyoncé, you know it must be good. With haute couture replacing souvenir shops, Olbia is Italy’s high-end haven with extra sand.

Like all the best Mediterranean enclaves, Olbia’s interior is blanketed in emerald shrubbery and terracotta rooftops. Greek, Roman and Carthaginian rulers have shaped the city, intriguing remnants of their time here left behind at the Museo Archeologica, set on its own tiny island in Olbia’s harbour. Venture into the countryside and glitzy coastal towns are replaced with rustic villages where local market traders deal in wine and cheese, both of which are best enjoyed on a picnic in amongst the mountain scenery.

While there is oh-so-much to keep you here on the island, Olbia is the ideal base for nipping into the Maddalena archipelago. Made up of seven main islands and tens of islets, the smattering of islands is home to gorgeous beaches like the famous pastel-pink Spiaggia Rossa Beach. Pick your paradise, take a dip in the water, then with hair still damp and skin salty, hide away from the midday sun in a waterside trattoria to sample the Sardinian cuisine.

RAVELLO

There’s a polished glamour and subtle exclusivity to Ravello, lent by an all-star cast of admirers that sees guestbooks name-drop Greta Garbo, Jacqueline Kennedy, Sophia Loren and Frank Sinatra on their pages.

IF THE AMALFI Coast is a treasure trove of jewel-hued stucco towns, Ravello is its hidden gem. Sitting pretty, snuggled into the clifftops of the Neapolitan Riviera, it delivers vertiginous views that steal away your breath. Follow the snaking, traffic-free pathways that climb through town until you reach the gardens of Villa Cimbrone. Those stop-you-in-your-tracks views charmed DH Lawrence back in 1927, when the writer holed himself away here to pen Lady Chatterley’s Lover. There must be something in the air in Ravello that inspires the bohemian; German composer Richard Wagner finally completed the second act of Parsifal at nearby Villa Rufolo, the views from its gardens enough to push him past a two-year bout of creative block. Catch the sun in Piazza Duomo, the rays bouncing off the bright white façade of the Duomo and onto the flagstones below. Tuesday is market day but lunch here, overlooking the green stacked hillsides of the Amalfi Coast, is a treat any day of the week. Alternatively, splash out on a class at Mamma Agata’s cookery school. Served up in the Agata family home overlooking the sea, classes teach you to recreate the Italian classics you’ll crave once you’re back on British soil.

PONZA

Somewhere between Naples and Rome are the Pontine Islands, mere flecks of rock in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

OF THE SIX rocky outcrops, Ponza is the largest but it has managed to fly under-the-radar for decades, hanging on to a retro appeal that has attracted everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Beyoncé. It isn’t the glitz and glamour that attracts the A-listers but rather the simple pleasures. Days spent dipping in and out of yellow stone coves in wooden gozzo boats, plunging into turquoise waters and refuelling with olive-studded focaccia don’t need a superstar budget.

Look beyond the yachts gleaming in the harbour and you’ll see why the Romans are so keen to keep this little island paradise to themselves. There are no airs and graces hidden away on this low-key locale. There are but a handful of taxis here and a building ban dating back to 1967 means no high-rise, high-end resorts scattered over the skyline either. Sure, the stars might stop by, but Ponza has them under its spell within minutes and before they know it they are eating, drinking and sunbathing just like the locals.

The blue and green waters around Ponza look better in person than they do on pictures. Clear and deep, the sea here is perfect for divers, the seabed scattered with shipwrecks and volcanic rock formations home to countless weird and wonderful sea creatures. Once you’ve dried off, make yourself comfortable at one of Michelin-starred Acqua Pazza’s port-side tables to sample its signature fish poached in a rich tomato sauce. You’ll find the dish that gave Acqua Pazza its name across Italy now but this is where it all began.

Ponza has a long history as a place of exile and you’ll struggle to find a more picturesque place to be cast away.

PALMAROLA

If you thought Ponza was unique and intimate, you have seen nothing yet.

SHARING A SPOT in the Pontine Islands is Palmarola, a craggy uncut jewel that cradles coral beaches and sea stacks along its coastline. There’s barely a thing to be found on this all-but-uninhabited island paradise, aside from a couple of restaurants close enough to the sea to dine with your feet in the sand, but therein lies its charm. The island feels so remote that it’s hard to believe Rome is so close by and that a resourceful Roman hasn’t yet capitalised on the island’s obvious appeal.

There’s a primitive feeling to Palmarola, with no roads or souvenir shops in sight, just dusty pathways and grottos still bearing the markings of cavemen who called the island home long before the pirates started stopping by.

The same waters once frequented by pirates are now scattered with snorkelers and scuba divers instead. In Cala Brigantina, those feeling especially brave take a deep breath and disappear into rock tunnels that lead to hidden grottos. Elsewhere in Punta Tramontana, they merely laze back on wooden boats and gaze up at the three mystical gargantuan arches known as La Cattedrale. Nearby, the ruins of a medieval monastery provide something to explore later, when the sun is at its strongest and you are seeking shade.

If you like your Italian isles still beautifully rugged and raw, Palmarola will be an itinerary highlight.