Isola Di Ponza is quite often confused with its neighbour islands Ischia and Capri.
It has similar rocks, size yet remains of volcanoes are extinct.
Ponza
Inhabited since the Etruscan times it was once, as the legend goes, the part of larger island called Tyrrhenia.
The island sank into the sea as well, as the corridor connecting Ponza with the mainland.
At present therer are archaeological works held to resolve the theory of the sunken land.
Achaeologists are also looking for the traces connected with the Homer’s Odyssey , as this was to be the home of Circe, which once turned fellows of Odysseus into animals. Odysseus himself spend a year at Circe’s place which could be the cave known as Grotta della Maga Circe on the west shore of the island.
The Roman history also left the traces in Ponza, which similar to Capri became the residence of members of Emperors families, not by their choice however, but sent to exile there.
The Middle Ages brought the constant raids by Saracens and pirates, due to which the habitants were forced to abandon Ponza and find the shelter on the mainland.
At the beginning of 20th century the island seved as a penalty company, at one time even Mussolini himself was imprisoned on the island for several weeks in 1943.
The mines of Kaolin and Bentonite were finally closed in 1975 due to the damages they’ve made to the local environment.
The island became the object of several movies both documentary ( Jacques an Philippe Cousteau ) and fictional ( Federico Fellini ) .
The landscape dominated by separate Kaolin and tuff rocks of various shapes has beem recognised by Hollywood celebrities, including Kirk and Michael Douglas, Burt Lancaster and Gina Lollobrigida.
The temporary celebrities are easy to spot on the most beautiful beach in the island Spiaggia delle felci.
Another popular places are Spiaggia Di Chaia di Luna and Ponza’s Botanical Garden.
Besides funny forms of the rocks the erosion formed also several grottoes, like mentioned earlier ‘Cave of the Sorceress Circe’,
Grotta di Ulisse O Del Sangue and Grotta Azzure ( with the name similar to the one from Capri).
Ponza is located on Thyrrhenian sea half way between Rome and Naples, from where there are regular ferry connections to the island.
[ photo courtesy of Luana Spagnoli]
