After six years in Umbria, our roots there are deep. After two short visits to Ischia, our roots were non-existent. So when we decided to organize and take a tour group to Ischia for a week long sailing school we needed help. The sailing end of things would be well covered, for we knew we were in good hands with Capitano Andrea. For the land portion of the trip we needed a good partner. As fate would have it we found Dion. Score one for Experience Umbria in Ischia.

Our Ischia Sailing Camp itinerary was built around five days of sailing with Andrea Proto, a seasoned sailor and instructor that Suzy and I had met the previous summer. Since that magical daysail with il capitano I had dreamed of organizing a weeklong tour of Ischia and during the offseason Andrea and I managed to put together the sailing portion of the program through emails. But man does not live on sailing alone and our guests, while surely content to enjoy relaxed island rhythms, deserved to see the non-touristy side of this tourist island and to take home with them authentic memories of the true Ischia. Seeking help, Suzy was able to find Dion Protani, a British expat living on Ischia with his Italian girlfriend and founder of Ischia Review, the island’s only English language guide site. Actually it wasn’t too difficult for Suzy to find Dion. Google pretty much every tourist activity or point of interest on Ischia and Dion’s site will pop up. At the top of the search results.

On our first full day on the island, we arranged a giro dell’isola or tour around the island with Dion. Aside from Suzy’s correspondence with him prior to our arrival, this was our first introduction to Dion and it was a good one. He arrived on time at our hotel with a first rate local driver named Luigi who became our friend and companion throughout our stay on Ischia. And for nearly four hours the two of them, Dion in English and Luigi in Italian introduced us to the wonders of Ischia, the obvious sites such as the imposing Castello Aragonse and the beautiful seaside village of Sant’Angelo for sure, but also the out of the way treasures, with panoramic vistas over Forio and Maronti beach and high above Sant’Angelo in Serrara Fontana. He piqued our interest in Sorgeto, a natural hot spring that feeds a series of rock lined pools that spill out into the sea, combining hot spring water and cool seawater, that are visited by locals year round for their therapeutic and soothing effect. Piqued our interest so much, in fact that we winded up visiting Sorgeto by sailboat later in our trip. And he showed us some of the numerous fumarole, natural steam vents that dot the island and act as a pressure release for the underground volcanic activity. One such fumarola heats the sands of a beach near Sant’Angelo and several enterprising local restaurants use the scalding sand as ovens, packaging food in foil and cooking it underground.

A few days after our giro, we were back in Sant’Angelo for dinner, thanks to Dion’s recommendation and arranging. We had been keen to sample cognilio all’ischitano, the local rabbit stew dish that famous on the island. Dion arranged such a dinner for us at the unlikely dal Pescatore (the Fisherman) restaurant. Being friends with Paolo, dal Pescatore’s owner, helped ensure that we enjoyed authentic and delicious coniglio at the best outdoor table in the house, overlooking the iconic peak that is connected to the village by a tiny isthmus. There we were smothered with terrific service and serenaded by the music of Marco, a local guitarist and troubadour who was arranged for our group, but who attracted a large crowd of passersby, getting the quintessential free ride.

But best of all, Dion arranged a visit to the Cenatiempo winery, a medium sized family run winery on this island that surprisingly produces a prodigious amount of wine. We were met by Federica, the wife of Cenatiempo’s owner, who manages the recently acquired vineyard that is located just past Serrara Fontana, high above the sea and in the shadow of Monte Epomeo. With the vineyard acquisition the family expanded from being producers and bottlers of wine to being farmers, but from it was clear from Federica’s enthusiasm and pride that it is was their destiny. For a couple of hours she showed us the land, the old palmento (where in the past farmers would drop their harvest and press the grapes by foot), the caves where wine was made, aged and stored. And then she led us through a tasting of the estate’s excellent wines, accompanied by homemade dishes prepared from the family’s garden. We have visited many a winery throughout Italy, but this experience was without equal.

Dion’s website – ischiareview.com – is a wealth of information provided for free, enabling visitors to build their own itineraries and see the island on their own. After spending a few days with Dion and under his care, however, we certainly believe that it was more than worthwhile to have put ourselves under his care. Simply put, our visit to Ischia would not have been the same without him.

Ci vediamo!
Bill and Suzy