The island of Ponza, squeezed in between Cala d’Inferno and Cala dell’Acqua, is one of the most interesting and evocative islands of the Mediterranean.
A holiday in Ponza will have you admiring this picturesque vision as soon as you arrive in one of the most beautiful and fascinating docks of the entire coast. A semi circle of pink and white houses will greet you at the port, together with the silhouette of the island, offering a spectacle that's hard to describe—a moving beauty due to the harmony of each individual element. A holiday in Ponza is a great opportunity to spend a few days of complete relaxation between romantic sunsets and breathtaking landscapes.
A boat trip around the island is certainly not to be missed, the chance to discover the beauties of Ponza from a very special viewpoint. From the port you turn towards Punta della Madonna, which closes the semi circle of the bay from the south-east. Once you have passed the red cliff, the Grotte di Pilato open up in the tufaceous rock, which in Roman times were fish markets where basins were carved for fish farming. You continue on towards the the Faraglioni della Madonna stacks—passable only by small boats—to reach Parata degli Scotti just shortly thereafter, a strip of rocky beach that comes before the large stacks of Faraglioni del Calzone Muto.
Right after you get to the high overhang of Punta della Guardia with a lighthouse at its far end. Here the coast bends softly until Punta del Fieno, beyond which the most beautiful beach of Ponza opens up, Chiaia di Luna, overlooked by a yellowish white cliff that shows the different geological ages of the island. Chiaia di Luna owes its name to "chiaja", which in the dialect of Naples means precisely beach, and to its half-moon shape. In ancient times there used to be a Greek port there called Diva Luna, but no traces of this remain. You can get to the beach by land as well, through a tunnel built by the ancient Romans that leads to the provincial road. On the high part of the beach there is an old necropolis, today the village of Guarini, dating back to the Roman era with the ruins of five chamber tombs that were carved into the rock.
Chiaia di Luna passes the baton to Punta Capo Bianco, a wall of light grey tufa that at different times of day the reflected light bestows with an ever-changing look. Set on the western side of the island, Capo Bianco is a bay made of vitreous tufaceous rock. It has many grottoes and inlets at sea level and visiting it by canoe is recommended. The upper end of the beach is a lacework of spires and pinnacles constantly changed by the wind. This splendid setting inspired director Federico Fellini, who shot some scenes of his film Satyricon here. After this, there is a small bay with a series of bends and colours, reaching up to Scoglio Montagnello, Punta Faraglioni and the fracture of the ancient peninsula of the five Faraglioni di Lucia Rosa. The stacks are characterised by inner cavities caused by the effect of the sea that then gave origin to real underground tunnels, mainly located below sea level.
Not far off from here you'll find one of the most beautiful parts of the entire island of Ponza: Cala Feola. Here the small northern harbour and the natural pools are the backdrop to the evocative setting of the terraces and the houses of Le Forna. Le Felci completes the western coast, an area that takes its name from the plant that goes all the way to the beach. Comprising sand and pebbles, many of which are white, bestowing the sea with a unique transparency, it can only be reached by water. To conclude this wonderful spectacle, you can visit—even if you have to swim there—a fascinating grotto, in front of which you'll notice the ruins of a Cistercian monastery.
The island's urban framework is 18th-century and dates back to the Bourbon colonisation. The semicircular port designed by Winspeare, Corso Pisacane, full of shops and restaurants, and the old Bourbon fortified tower, today a hotel, are highly important. Located inside a grotto, the Ponza Ethnographic Museum astounds for the peculiarity of the building. It houses letters, equipment, statues and ornaments that were part of the everyday life of the ancient citizens of Ponza. If nature is more your thing, the botanical garden will be exactly up your alley. A genuine garden of Eden on the top of the Belvedere Hill on the south-eastern side of the island of Ponza, it is rich in Mediterranean and exotic species, including ferns and orchids. Many non-migratory and migratory bird species also nest in the garden.
If you have time to visit the surrounding area as well, Zannone Island is just a few kilometres from Ponza, accessible only by private transport or by one of the connecting boats during the summer. Zannone is part of the Circeo National Park and you get there by docking at Punta del Varo. During the crossing you'll go past Cala delle Grottelle, Scoglio del Monaco, Punta di Levante, Punta del Lauro, Capo Negro, Capo Caccia with Punta del Mariuolo and Punta Lunghetiello. Getting back onto dry land you can see the ruins of the Santo Spirito Benedictine Convent in Zannone. Here there is a small colony of mouflons, brought here years ago from Sardinia. All you have to do is check out our holiday packages to Ponza and get ready for a brand new, unforgettable adventure.
