Caves to castles on Italy's Ischia island

One of Ischia island's particular architectural highlights are its traditional houses cut out of stone, known in Italian as case di pietra. Most of these rock homes are built out of the island's green tuff stone, pieces of volcanic rock that surfaced in tectonic activity around the second century A.D.

It's believed people started building into the rock sometime in the 1500s as a simple form of home as well as protection from pirates. These basic homes, however, soon developed into more complex forms. A two-storey rock hermitage, for example, is hidden in the vegetation along the ravine walk from Serrara to Cavascura. Other rock buildings have now been converted into cool wine cellars, farm storage, places of worship, as well as a modern restaurant-pizzeria and a dedicated museum.

The pizzeria is the most noticeable, found on the road from Forio to Ciglio and perched high on a rock column by the side of the road. The museum on the other hand has resident goats balanced on the precipice above. Set along the Fontana to Barano road it recalls the days when people actually still lived within the rock.

Similarly, walls built without lime, the parracine, are another example of the cleverness and practicality behind Ischia's architecture. The parracine are an ingenious construction that reduced the risk of landslides and soil flooding and can be seen bordering many of the island's vineyards.

From these rustic architectural elements, Ischia adds an interesting mix of influences, such as the gothic, baroque and renaissance blend of the Soccorso Church at Forio. At the sea end of Forio's main street it is also one of the island's best squares for watching the sunset over the ocean.

Most notable though is the island's Aragonese Castle. Originally built as a fort in 474 A.C., the castle was made and remade, to eventually come of age during the Renaissance. It is an intriguing array of towers and stone buildings set on the islet opposite Ischia Ponte.

The castle became a meeting place for artists during the Renaissance, including Italy's famous Michelangelo, and it's rumoured his visits were the inspiration behind Vittoria Colonna's love sonnets. Vittoria Colonna was the castle proprietor during the 16th century and herself is a well known and respected Italian poetess.