LEGENDARY ESCAPES

ichelangelo Antonioni’s 1960 filmL’Avventura begins with seven friends—a wealthy group CINEMA of gorgeous, disaffected youth—boating on the . Their affluence is visible in their languor, their restlessness expressed in their volatility. At one point they anchor off Lisca Bianca, a tiny islet that emerges like a monolith from the sea. When they discover that one of their PARADISO Mparty, a young woman, has seemingly vanished into thin air, they FILM DIRECTORS RETURN AGAIN AND AGAIN scramble up and down the jagged cliffs, playing out small personal dramas as they seek to resolve the larger one. The water crashes TO THIS SCATTERING OF ISOLATED ITALIAN against the rocks; the sky opens to possibility. The landscape itself becomes another character—stunning, feisty, mysterious. ISLANDS, FOR THEIR WILD, DRAMATIC This has always been the draw of the islands favored by Italians: extravagant nature with a profound feeling of isolation. There is BEAUTY AND AN UNCOMPLICATED CHARM bustle enough on the mainland, where extravagance of a differ- ent sort plays out against the backdrop of crowded cobblestone CURIOUSLY UNTOUCHED BY TIME. streets, grandiose exchanges, and an infuriating bureaucracy. When it comes time to leave it all behind, Italians want to feel THE SEAFOOD HAPPENS TO BE transported. “That’s what we do, especially the rich,” a Roman friend told me. “They don’t want to go to the By Nell Casey PRETTY GREAT TOO. LUXE LIFE beach with others. They want to escape civilization. So The cast (including they go to these impossible-to-reach places and then Monica Vitti, far they build a palace.” right) of Michelangelo I ventured to the Aeolian paradises—seven Antonioni’s 1960 film UNESCO-protected isles scattered off the northeast L’Avventura, on the coast of —where Antonioni captured the bewil- tiny islet of Lisca Bianca, off the coast dered anxiety of privilege. These are some of the most of Panarea. secluded islands in the world, requiring arduous plane- car-ferry journeys from almost anywhere in . Unless, that is, you are traveling on a private boat. But even then, capricious weather threatens—Aeolus, for whom the islands are named, is the Greek god of wind. “If the islands say no, you don’t go,” Beatrice Bulgari, a SCENE STEALERS The island of Procida filmmaker and member of the luxury goods family, told (above) and the town me. These magnificent islands are prized all the more, of Corricella (far left), then, for the difficulty of actually reaching them. where parts of The Bulgari, who owns a house on , the only Talented Mr. Ripley, ISLAND TIME Aeolian with an active , travels regularly among all the starring Matt Damon Panarea’s Casa islands. “I am lucky enough to have seen a lot of beautiful places and Gwyneth Paltrow, Visconti and Hotel in the world, but there is something very special about feeling like were filmed. Raya (above). nothing in the middle of nowhere,” she said. Bulgari recently shot a movie, The Lack, on Lisca Bianca, partially in homage to Antonioni. “I remember when I arrived for the first time, at 25 years old, and thought, What do people do here? But this nothing, you come Procida to understand, is everything. You never experience it elsewhere.”

SALINA Panarea I got a sense of what Bulgari was talking about after I arrived on Salina. It is the second-largest of the , and it used to be called Didyme, the Greek word for twin—a reference to the island’s two dormant volcanoes, Monte dei Porri and Monte Fossa delle Felci, which are just under and over 3,000 feet tall, respec- tively. Whereas Stromboli is defined by its active volcano (“You live with the madman,” as Bulgari put it), Salina is the most verdant of the islands, thanks to an unusual combination of fresh­water springs and volcanic soil. The impact, visually and physically, is profound. There is bougainvillea—always bougainvillea—dra­ ping

FROM TOP: DEA/M. BORCHI/DE AGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES; SUSAN WRIGHT; PARAMOUNT PICTURES/PHOTOFEST PARAMOUNT FROM TOP: DEA/M. BORCHI/DE AGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES; SUSAN WRIGHT; GILI + COMMERCE; OBERTO HRANEK/ART COLLECTION; MATTHEW FROM TOP: © DILTZ/RDA/EVERETT the simple stone houses, but these welcome bursts of fuc­ hsia are T&C TRAVEL T&C TRAVEL SPRING/SUMMER 2016 80 TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM SPRING/SUMMERFALL/WINTER 20162015 81 TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM LEGENDARY ESCAPES just the beginning. Strolling the main road days, but I felt the restoration of a month. to Santa Marina, one of the villages on “SALINA IS NOT A I too hoped that Salina, both lavish and Salina, I came across poppies, yellow gorse PLACE WHERE humble, would stay this way forever. bushes, wild rosemary, prickly pear cactus, Where to stay: Capofaro Malvasia and caper bushes. (Here, the caper, grown PEOPLE SHOW OFF. & Resort, with its new chef, Ludovico de to full maturity, is called a cucuncio and is IT’S ABOUT Vivo. His caper ice cream sandwich is not closer to a green olive with a stalk.) There to be missed (FROM $187, CAPOFARO.IT). Hotel is also a salt lake, which, in an ecological SIMPLICITY Signum has a wonderful spa (FROM $167, collaboration characteristic of the island, WITHOUT ANY HOTELSIGNUM.IT). Where to eat: Da Alfredo was once mined for salt. (Salina means (011-39-90-984-3075), for granita and a pane salt mill in Italian.) STATUS SYMBOLS, cunzato (a Sicilian sandwich) on the “It is a cherished agricultural island,” waterfront. said Alberto Tasca, CEO of Tasca d’Almer­ JUST GOING DEEP ita, a top Sicilian family winemaker. He INTO LIFE.” PANAREA should know: Tasca grew up vacation- From a distance Panarea is a breathtak- ing on Panarea, another Aeolian island, ing bit of boulder, only slightly larger than and when he and his family were on the boat home they always one square mile, with dramatic striations that resemble elephant glimpsed an abundant vineyard on Salina. In 2001 they bought skin. It is often described as the “Capri of the Aeolian islands,” a it, and in 2003 they opened the Capofaro Malvasia & Resort, an wealthy retreat with a chic summer scene. Kate Moss and Uma elegant hotel on the vineyard, from which Salina’s own Malvasia Thurman have lounged on the terrace of the famed Hotel Raya, sweet wine is produced. a stylish place that opened in the 1960s complete with a seaside Shaped by volcanic activity thousands of years ago, Salina has disco that instantly put Panarea on every international jetsetter’s dramatic cliffs that rise from the cobalt sea, forming numerous map. “In July and August it’s like a camp for beautiful young peo- For the Love of rocky swimming coves. The most famous beach is in Pollara, on the ple,” said Bulgari, whose own 17-year-old daughter has spent many Mariastella (1946), island’s west side, where everyone directs you to see the sunset. “It a night dancing at the Raya. But regulars take pains to renounce directed by Pino is best there because it is more orange,” my taxi driver explained its party reputation, usually by invoking its past. “When I started Mercanti. as he rushed to get me to it on time. Scenes from the 1994 movie going, there was no electricity and no running water,” said Anto- Il Postino, about Chilean poet Pablo Neruda’s fictional friendship nio Monfreda, an Italian creative director who has been visiting with his literary postman, were shot here. The beach has been so the island since his parents bought a house there in the 1970s. heavily visited since then, it is now partly blocked off, but it is “Star watching and volcano watching”—there is a terrific view of CRYSTAL BLUE CAFE SOCIETY possible to reach a peaceful cove and, yes, an excellent sunset view. Stromboli smoking a few miles away—“were the great activities.” PERSUASION A restaurant on Above: The town of Piazza Madrice. Following a seemingly bleak tip, I visited the cimitero in Santa These days Panarea appeals to the Janus in people—two faces Punta Longa. Below: Left: Ricci di mare Marina. It is a startlingly moving place, with tiny black-and-white looking in opposite directions—in that you can be seen and you A cove at Cala (sea urchin), a portraits on the graves. Behind it is a small pebble beach—adored can hide. “It is Capri as I imagine it in the last century,” Monfreda Rossa. favorite local dish. by locals and still enough of a secret not to have an official name— added. “When the sun goes to sleep behind you and with tiny fish darting through crystalline waters. shines on the rocks, they change from intense yellow to Much attention has been brought to the Aeolian islands by vari- green to violet. And the tiny stone beaches are enchant- ous fashion and art stars who own houses there—Domenico Dolce ing.” The most magnificent of these is Cala Junco, in the and Stefano Gabbana, Cindy Sherman (Stromboli); Maurizio Cat- southernmost part of the island. High cliffs of basalt Favignana telan, the bad boy of the Italian art scene (); the prominent tower over water that shifts between turquoise and art dealer Gérard Faggionato (Panarea)—but Salina has always green. Here, the lure of revelry and fame fades away, stayed out of the spotlight. “It is not a place where people show and you are returned to a primitive solitude. off,” Tasca said. “You might see the stars here, but they are quiet. Though some despair that the Hotel Raya brought Salina is about simplicity without any status symbols, just going nonstop rollicking nightlife to the island, the owners, deep into life.” Myriam Beltrami and Paolo Tilche, brought a sophis- Alessandro Grassi, a publicist based in Milan, argued that all ticated aesthetic, too. The hotel is a sprawling event, the islands are being remade in this image. “Yes, Madonna went rambling up a hill from the port on the east side of the

sailing there,” he said, “but there is also a new generation that island; the architecture is Greek-influenced, and the STOCK; ANDREA WYNER (2); ARCHIVIO STORICO DEL CINEMA/AFE IMAGES; MICHAEL GRIMM/GALLERY cares about the future. They are thinking about these islands as an impeccable interior design has an Indonesian inflection. ecosystem for wine and food.” To that end a powerful group led (Beltrami spends part of the year in Bali.) There is a simi- by British financier and philanthropist Ben Goldsmith formed the lar Grecian style to Panarea in general. The houses are Aeolian Islands Preservation Fund last year; the U.K.-based non- whitewashed, with the occasional pop of a blue shut- profit supports sustainable environmental initiatives on the islands. ter or a green door. The labyrinthine streets winding On my last day, starting at the 17th-century church Santuario through the center are without cars or lamps. The days della Madonna del Terzito, I hiked the trail up Monte Fossa—the of no electricity may be over, but the preferred method highest peak in the islands—and picked a bouquet of wildflo­ wers of lighting at night is a Moroccan lantern—or, better among the eucalyptus and pine trees. Near the top I turned to see yet, a full moon. the green slope of Monte dei Porri and the tiny islands of Filicudi Where to stay: Hotel Raya is a must if you want

and punctuating the sea below. I’d been there for a few to experience the island in full. The jacuzzi, which uses MARK A/UIG/GETTY CLOCKWISE F ROM TOP LEFT: T&C TRAVEL T&C TRAVEL SPRING/SUMMER 2016 82 TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM SPRING/SUMMER 2016 83 TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM ------). The ). ) is the ) is the Where ). ), Ginevra La La Ginevra ), 011-39-338-609-3149 CARMARILLOBRILLO.IT DIMORACALADELPOZZO.IT hat first drew the Aga Khan to the Aga Khan hat first drew hing up to this new surge of visi hing up to this ). In addition to the elegant B&B B&B elegant to the In addition ). . Literally . Literally a gommone All I needed was FROM $200, DIMORADELLOLIVASTRO.IT ind: What mattered—what everyone everyone mattered—what What ind: een and . tors; the pastel buildings and central vil pastel buildings and central tors; the But never and provincial. lage are sweet m to the closing of the base, as well as the as the base, as well of the closing to the Emer the fed up with defection of those is Maddalena La of town The Coast. ald still catc advised—was that I get out to sea. After I get out to sea. After that advised—was same gor the shares archipelago all, the granite and sculptural water geously clear coastlines t is Emerald Coast. The only difference the area is still untapped. this that but in real dinghy, means a rubber that are all manner of boats to be ity there ported Americans to do business with them— with ported Americans to do business FROM $164, IPRETTIRESORT.IT bunga” parties) followed. Many Italians feel this area is is area this feel Italians Many followed. parties) bunga” TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM , a restored seaside farmhouse ( , a restored seaside le pillar of light. It was as striking as the beam that pierces pierces beam that as striking as the It was le pillar of light. ussian oligarchs—and have taken to the more secluded Mad secluded more the to taken have oligarchs—and ussian ARCHIPELAGO MADDALENA Emer Costa Smeralda (or has been paid to the attention Much The largest is , just a mile off the northeastern northeastern the off mile a just Maddalena, La is largest The , near the center, has a lovely inner inner has a lovely center, , near the I Pretti to stay: Where ­ R p of Sardinia, Italy’s second-largest island (after Sicily). The Aga The Aga Sicily). island (after second-largest Italy’s p of Sardinia, is short on atmosphere but long on but long on atmosphere on C’e C’e is short Quello che to eat: island ( best meal to be had on the crudo—the wine bar and restaurant Camarillo Brillo ( wine bar and restaurant ald Coast), the 35-mile stretch of shoreline on the northeastern northeastern on the of shoreline 35-mile stretch the ald Coast), ti Dimora Cala del Dimora Cala del year, hotel this to open another plans Cavera Pozzo shore of Sardinia. For 36 years, until 2008, there was a U.S. naval naval U.S. a was there 2008, until years, 36 For Sardinia. of shore pro This Stefano. Santo nearby on base NATO a and here, base bases the a strong economy—because such island with vided the hired locals and im now overrun—congested with expensive boutiques and the yachts yachts and the boutiques expensive with overrun—congested now of even for the very rich, is nature and simplicity: the pastures with with pastures the simplicity: is nature and rich, very for the even the rocky fig trees, and sweet of olive groves the and sheep, cows I island. When of the perimeter the dot that grottos the beaches, on the beach an exquisite Cala Rotonda, near water the into dove an open where a cave swimming into myself side, I found west in through sun shone ceiling and the rock ing had formed in the a sing it had occurred by of Favignana, so much like but, Pantheon, the of nature. happenstance the ( courtyard he and his consortium when getaway opulent Khan created this acres of coastal property and developed 12,000 more than bought and for golf courses, Soon luxury resorts, early 1960s. it in the notorious his (and Berlusconi Silvio minister prime Italian mer “bunga found in the isolotti tiny islands and many seven dalena archipelago, , betw thanks changing, That’s unnecessary. courting tourism was that Either of the other two Egadi Egadi two other of the Either Side trip: Europeans. of hip choice without of life glimpse a visit. Marettimo offers a islands is worth Grotta del Genovese, for the is known pretensions; Levanzo any from are available trips Daily paintings. home to Stone Age cave to mid-September. mid-June ( Dimora dell’Olivastro 8585 ­ - - - ). T&C TRAVEL TRAVEL T&C T&C LEGENDARY ESCAPES LEGENDARY exquisite B&B on B&B on exquisite

FROM $167, HOTELRAYA.IT FROM ). IT’S UNLIKELY IT’S UNLIKELY WILL FAVIGNANA THE BUDGE FOR . WHIMS OF LUXURY THE LOCALS THAT UNDERSTAND , THE ATTRACTION THE VERY FOR EVEN RICH, IS NATURE. an FALL/WINTER 2015 FALL/WINTER - SPRING/SUMMER 2016 the annual slaughter of blue slaughter annual the BRIDGEPANAREA.COM he largest of the Egadi islands—a small Egadi islands—a small he largest of the ­ gnana, t he chest of my boat driver, is undeniably casual casual is undeniably boat driver, of my he chest FAVIGNANA but a fierce loyalty, inspires Aeolians of the Each Indeed, in the small main village, where the east and east and the where small main village, Indeed, in the Favi archipelago off the west coast of Sicily—elicits perhaps west coast of Sicily—elicits perhaps the off archipelago inhabit enchanted its among passion intense most the ants. The allure of “my Favignana,” as it was tattooed was tattooed as it Favignana,” The allure of “my ants. on t is where the elite meet elite meet the is where Sushi Bridge to eat: Where for the to dance. It opens Raya to the before heading ( season in early June water from natural hot springs, is rumored to cure ills cure ills is rumored to springs, from natural hot water to insomnia ( arthritis ranging from ,” my Italian friends say. Part of that wildness comes comes that wildness Part of Italian friends say. wild,” my pecting tuna would pass through these waters on their way way on their waters these through pass pecting tuna would he church and in a dignified museum museum and in a dignified he church All of them are attracted by the island’s intense beauty. “Favi beauty. intense island’s are attracted by the All of them La Mattanza, there’s And then Ginevra La Cavera, who grew up living part-time in Favig grew up living who Ginevra La Cavera, Some have heralded Favignana as the as the heralded Favignana Some have

the island, told me that tourists have been coming for less than 10 than less been coming for have tourists me that told island, the course, of Italy, around From coming. more are there “But years. some France, even and Europe, England, Northern but also from Americans.” island is meet in a slender middle—the sides of Favignana west nightly. mix of people gather a butterfly—a stylish like shaped accidentally (once visits on his megayacht Giorgio Armani now Patrizio Prada and her husband pier); Miuccia the slamming into a seaside villa. bought reportedly Bertelli have the island, on a hill western side of the On from its brutal history. Caterina, di Santa Castello Caterina, sits the Santa called Monte The island, in fact, for pirates. originally built as a watchtower Arabs, Romans, Carthaginians, under attack—by centuries spent (which Cala Rossa spot, most beautiful Favignana’s Normans. and dead the of blood the from name its got cove”), “red means roughly Punic Wars. during the ashore washed Phoenicians who gnana is and offbeat. There are no luxury hotels here. Italians leave their their leave Italians here. no luxury hotels are There offbeat. and . is slow living biking. And the of in favor precious cars behind dipped waiter had simply the as if it’s The crudo tastes so fresh of Cala beach crescent to the path rocky sea; the the a plate into has museum the local and Azzurra winds past a field of donkeys; around just fine. way your find no guides—but you’ll Dimora dell’Olivastro, owns now nana and to the Atlantic. A team of men would team of men would A Atlantic. to the as weighed which fish, giant wrestle the the sea and from pounds, as 1,000 much harpoons into plunge their repeatedly bluefin after a run on Finally, flesh. their million a than more fetched tuna—one in 2013— market Tokyo dollars on the the left to continue enough weren’t there on in mem But La Mattanza lives event. window stained glass depicted in the ory, of t port. near the the unlikely but it’s next Italian hot spot, of luxury. whims island will budge for the the attraction, that The locals understand fin tuna that took place for centuries. Until about a decade ago about a decade ago Until that took place for centuries. fin tuna unsus

CECCHI GORI GROUP TIGER CINEMATOGR/RONALD GRANT/EVERETT COLLECTION; COURTESY CAOPFARO; DALLAS STRIBLEY/GETTY IMAGES; ADRIAN HOUSTON/GALLERY STOCK HOUSTON/GALLERY ADRIAN IMAGES; STRIBLEY/GETTY DALLAS CAOPFARO; COURTESY COLLECTION; GRANT/EVERETT CINEMATOGR/RONALD TIGER GROUP GORI CECCHI CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DEAGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES (2); COURTESY EVERETT COLLECTION; DEA/S. MONTANARI/DE AGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES; MARY EVANS/BLUE DAHLIA PRODUCTIONS/ DAHLIA EVANS/BLUE MARY IMAGES; AGOSTINI/GETTY MONTANARI/DE DEA/S. COLLECTION; EVERETT COURTESY (2); IMAGES DEAGOSTINI/GETTY LEFT: TOP FROM CLOCKWISE . ), in Michael ), in Michael right Massimo Troisi Massimo Troisi ( Il Postino Radford’s 1994 film 1994 film Radford’s .

Red Desert Vitti in Vitti in 1964 Antonioni’s film

Two secluded secluded Two The town of The town of COAST TO COAST COAST TO COAST Above: Below: spots on the island spots on the island of La Maddalena. the same name.

Salina Maddalena Fishing Fishing NET PROFITS From above: boats docked in Santa boats docked in Santa Marina; Monte Fossa delle Felci, one of two dormant Salina’s volcanoes; steps, carved into the rocky coastline, lead down to the sea at Pollara. LEGENDARY ESCAPES Cala del Pozzo Vecchio ’s Cala Seregola La Locanda del Postino isle—more than 70 rented in the main port of La Maddalena. (Be sure to book a EXTEND YOUR TRIP beaches. PROCIDA private tour, not a group outing, as it’s best to chart your own MARINA DI CORRICELLA Capo Cotoncello course. Elena Tours was very good: ELENATOURNAVIGAZIONI.COM.) Out on 3 MORE ISLAND TREASURES Sant’Andrea Scaglieri Charming, unpretentious— Spiaggia Chiaia the water I discovered a different world. “You can dive into a sea another surrounded by granite RIO MARINA a miniature Positano. that has nothing to envy the Caribbean,” one friend described it, In 1985, Rome-born fashion cliffs (Cotoncello). Perhaps best PORTOFERRAIO Biodola rather poetically. photographer Fabrizio Ferri known as the site of Napoleon’s The other six islands, in descending size order, are , was looking for a new place to first exile, in 1814, Elba is one shoot. He wanted the “special of a string of islands between ELBA , , Santa Maria (where Oscar-winning film- Monte light” that seems to exist only in the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian Cappane maker Roberto Benigni owns a summer house), , and Raz- Ristorante Italy. Someone suggested Pan- seas. Italian painter Roberta Calanova I zoli. You can easily visit them all by boat—nothing is more than telleria, a 32-square-mile island di Girolamo, who owns a Palombaia 1 MILE Adriatic 20 minutes away, though the ride, while always exhilarating, can between the coasts of Tunisia house on the island, prefers a ELBA CORSICA T Sea sometimes be choppy. “North of Sardinia has the most beautiful and Sicily. “So I jumped on the relatively remote beach called (FR.) and fast-changing winds,” a friend who has come here since child- plane and left three days later Palombaia. “It’s charming. It ROME A hood told me. “It is never boring sailing here.” with a key to my dammuso,” says can be reached only by sea LA MADDALENA Ferri, who later transformed or by walking up and down L Caprera was once largely owned by Giuseppe Garibaldi, one Maddalena that dammuso—Pantelleria’s a staircase of 100 steps,” she Islands Y of modern Italy’s founding fathers; his home is now a museum. typical stone house—into a says. “There are always only a PROCIDA ISCHIA The island also features Cala Coticcio, a beach that has drawn resort, Monas- few people there.” Ringed by RAZZOLI SANTA MARIA CAPRI comparisons to Tahiti for so long that it has been labeled as such tero (MONASTERO this variety of beaches, Elba’s Seven rugged islands SARDINIA PANTELLERIA.COM and tiny isolitti—the “better Tyrrhenian Sea on local maps. (It is set on two secluded coves and is reached only ). interior is made up of greenery-­ BUDELLI Those who covered mountains—such as Sardinia.” by a strenuous hike.) The delicate pink rock that surrounds the Aeolian Islands turquoise water has been shaped by the wind into recognizable come to the the 3,343-foot Monte Capanne, Spaggia Rosa PORTO MASSIMO LISCA BIANCA forms: a cow, a witch’s nose, a reclining woman. Budelli, which island, he says, the tip of which can be reached are in search of by cable car and which offers a MADDALENA ISLANDS 0 25 50 Egadi Islands PANAREA STROMBOLI was the setting for another Antonioni movie, 1964’s Il Deserto MILES SALINA a place to hide (read: celebri- 360-degree view of the archipel- La Scogliera LEVANZO Rosso, includes Spiaggia Rosa (named for its unique pink sand). ties) or a place to recoup their ago. Elba is easy to reach, so it’s La Locanda del Mirto MARETTIMO It is now off limits to visitors, but you can still glimpse its blush strength amid the olive trees mobbed from mid-June to early SPARGI MONETA LA MADDALENA FAVIGNANA from a boat. and lava stones. Pantelleria is September. But there is one place SICILY a recluse’s paradise: There are “that is very hidden, where you Ionian On uninhabited Spargi there are even more remarkable Sea stretches of beach, Cala Soraya and Granara among them. The no beaches on this quiet island, can go by boat,” says Beatrice LA MADDALENA Cala Coticcio where often the only sound Bulgari, an admirer of the place. L’Avventura PANTELLERIA scene was busier here, with boats all around—yachts, , CAPRERA gommoni you hear is the whipping wind “Ristorante Calanova is really Grand Hotel sailboats—creating a seaside camaraderie as people plunged into (hence the island’s name, which special. You can have the most Ma & Ma the water, swimming around the pink-gray rock formations and means “daughter of the wind”). beautiful fish in the world and SANTO making their way to the silky beaches. You will find a volcano at the sit out in the sun. Very simple, STEFANO At the end of the day, as we headed back to La Maddalena, we high point of the island sur- but very sophisticated.” 1 MILE PANAREA came to Porto Massimo, near the northern tip of the island. It was rounded by hot springs and LISCA fumaroles. “It’s not active, but PROCIDA BIANCA unexpectedly empty—just the water, the white beach, and me. I Hotel Raya it still breathes,” Ferri says of This petite island Bridge Sushi dove in and felt a lightness I have experienced only here; the salt- Favare Grande. “It’s a very (less than two water gives a stronger sense of buoyancy. I drifted, looking up at FAVIGNANA 1 MILE magical place. There are cracks square miles) off Whitewashed houses—the allure the broad sky, enveloped by rock and sea, and I felt I had arrived at in the earth where steam comes the coast near SAN PIETRO Camarillo Brillo of 20th-century Capri. the edge of the world. Or, rather, that I had arrived at the nothing out 24 hours a day.” Closer to Naples served as a I Pretti Resort Cala Junco that means everything. Africa than to the Italian main- backdrop for the Dimora dell’Olivastro Where to stay: La Maddalena is underwhelming when it land, Pantelleria is too far for 1999 filmThe Talented Mr. Rip- FAVIGNANA Cala Rossa Verdant, dramatic, simple—here comes to hotels, but Grand Hotel Ma & Ma Resort offers con- many Italians, so it remains an ley, and it’s hard not to imagine Quello che C’è C’è ethereal secret even during the Matt Damon, Jude Law, and you go deep into life. Cala Rotonda Hotel Signum temporary luxury accommodations, along with a spa and glit- summer. “It’s foreign to any- Gwyneth Paltrow strolling, tering lounge bar (FROM $216, GRANDHOTELMAEMA.COM). Where to eat: thing we know,” Ferri says, “but sun-kissed, down the charming, Castello di 1 MILE Santa Caterina La Scogliera, overlooking the water in secluded Porto Massimo, it’s the most amazing place.” narrow streets of this fisher- Cala Azzurra Capofaro Malvasia & Resort is a must—and so are reservations (011-39-789-187-6556). The charming men’s village. Gorgeous, unpre- POLLARA MALFA Wild, obeat, the living is slow— SALINA La Locanda del Mirto, in the mountains, opens on all sides to ELBA tentious, and with few tourists, is this the next hot spot? Monte dei Porri Italy’s third- Procida looks like a miniature stunning views (011-39-789-739-056). « Santuario della SANTA MARINA largest island Positano, its piled-high, pastel- 1 MILE Madonna del Terzito Monte Fossa Castello delle Felci (after Sicily colored houses sprinkled down Barbacane Getting there: The perfect times to go to avoid the crowds are late and Sardinia), each side like so many gum- Da Alfredo May to early June or the month of September. Boats to Salina and Pan- off the Tuscan drops. It’s less verdant than the PANTELLERIA 1 MILE RINELLA area leave regularly from the Sicilian port of Milazzo, and starting in coast, offers more prominent neighboring SNAV.IT more than 70 islands of Capri and Ischia, June there will be hydrofoils ( ) from Naples and . Air MURSIA PANTELLERIA LINGUA Panarea (AIRPANAREA.COM) offers helicopter service from the Palermo and beaches—some but Procida’s many gorgeous Favare Grande Naples airports. For Favignana, boats depart from the port of Trapani. with silky white beaches (Chiaia and Cala del sand (Biodola, Pozzo Vecchio among them), TOWN VOLCANO HOTEL No beaches, just (Absolute Sicilia is a terrific company specializing in luxury travel Scaglieri), some with red (Cala along with the island’s authentic RESTAURANT ethereal secrets—a within Sicily; ask for Alexandra Buzzi; ABSOLUTESICILIA.COM). Several ferry Seregola), one made up of boul- feel and energetic piazza night- FORT/ CHURCH/ SCAURI Monastero recluse’s paradise. companies regularly travel to La Maddalena from the Sardinian port of ders (Capo Sant’Andrea), and life, are a strong draw. « CASTLE MONASTERY BEACH

Palau; it takes just 15 minutes. FROM TOP: DEAGOSTINI/GETTY IMAGES; MARKA/UIG/GETTY DIGITAL LIGHT SOURCE/UIG/GETTY IMAGES. OPPOSITE: MAP BY HAISAM HUSSEIN T&C TRAVEL SPRING/SUMMER 2016 86 TOWNANDCOUNTRYMAG.COM Illustration by Justin Giunta