Welcome to the Tiny Italian Island Locals Love to Escape to
Through salt-crusted windows as the hydrofoil glides into port, Ponza appears to be a vision in technicolour. Candy-pink, light-blue and canary-yellow houses perch atop the promontory like balancing ballerinas. Despite the high season, the promenade is uncrowded, pleasantly lively. Locals mingle with beachgoers in a scene reminiscent of a Wes Anderson-meets-Anthony Minghella movie. The air is calm. I feel as if I’ve stumbled upon a secret.
The largest of the Pontine Islands, Ponza is a volcanic gem rich in natural beauty and curious contradictions. Situated off the coast south of Rome (hydrofoils leave from Anzio, about an hour by train from the capital), the island is a favourite retreat for Roman holiday-makers, who somehow have managed to keep it largely to themselves. Unlike its upscale neighbours – Ischia, Capri, the Amalfi Coast – there’s a down-to-earth vibe here that resonates with travellers seeking low-key experiences instead of glitzy resorts. Shops are small and unpretentious. Beaches, with a few exceptions, are rocky coves with rugged surfaces where sunbeds and umbrellas barely find a place. Some of Ponza’s best bars and restaurants are beach shacks serving simple fare – sandwiches of buffalo mozzarella and stir-fried greens or chunks of tuna and fresh tomato – in an informal atmosphere. That simplicity is precisely what I’m after.
While there’s a choice of charming hotels, such as Hotel Chiaia di Luna with its views over the moon-shaped bay of the same name, there’s an abundance of rental properties. I’m travelling with friends and we book a quaint, blue-painted house nestled in the centre of the island between the villages of Le Forna and La Piana, a swift and scenic taxi ride from the port and strategically positioned near a series of paradisiacal coves.
Our days in the little blue house settle into a rhythm. Breakfast unfolds on the terrace over multiple rounds of coffee and woodfired cornetti from nearby Silvio Pizza-Bar Nuovo (where you’ll also find the best pizza on the island) while we casually plan what’s next. Then a fig-leaf-scented, cicada-soundtracked walk to our chosen beach is followed by the first of many dips in the crystal-clear sea. Having secured a sunbed, I pull out a book that’s soon set aside to make way for a nap in the shade. Interrupting this languid leisure are quick trips to the beach shack for hazelnut popsicles and, later in the day, iced beers, which we sip while watching the sun set over the neighbouring island of Palmarola. Nights mostly consist of rounds of homemade herbal digestif at Ristorante da Igino after a late dinner of its spaghetti alle vongole or a couple of Mojitos during haphazard jam sessions at Pontino bar near Le Piscine beach.
Each cove on Ponza is uniquely special, with some accessible by land after a short hike and others only reachable via the sea, whether on a tour with the local Boatmen Cooperative, by renting a boat or hiring a skipper – all of these options can be arranged at the port. Spiaggia del Frontone is the most beach-like of all, with sand, a row of lounges and youthful crowds. But preferring rock to sand and tranquil to bustling, my friends and I become regulars at Le Piscine and Cala Fonte.
During our eight days on the island, we visit Da Gerardo al Museo (Via de Frontone; +39 377 688 6842) twice. The family-run eatery (it doubles as an ethnographic museum) transforms the freshest local ingredients, some of which are grown on the premises, into a small selection of flavour-dense Ponzese dishes served under a pergola overlooking the pebbly beach of Frontone. Chickens and goats from the property’s farm greet us on arrival and we order a plate of pickled aubergines, a generous portion of parmigiana oozing with olive oil and a bowl of homemade cavatelli with flying squid. Sitting in the cooling shade, I eat with childlike joy. The most meaningful experiences on Ponza, as in life, are those you don’t expect.
