Scarrupata di Barano
Barano d'Ischia (NA)
Hidden gemFree beaches
The story
The name says it all: scarrupata, meaning collapsed. A wall of coloured clays fallen into the sea, and at the bottom a beach of big pebbles that its own inaccessibility saved from concrete. For the people of Ischia it is a place of the soul.
Access
FREE, no facilities. Long, steep descent on foot
The story
The Scarrupata is a stretch of high and wild coast on the southern side of Ischia, between Ischia Ponte and the Maronti, in the municipality of Barano. «Scarrupata», in Neapolitan, means crumbled: and here the word is a virtue, because it tells of walls of volcanic rock lacerated and collapsed towards the sea, remained intact and authentic.
What to see
A true open-air manual of volcanology: layers of white tuff, yellow tuff, dark ignimbrites that seem burnt and the green tuff of the Epomeo, mixed with lapilli and pumice, above an emerald-green sea. At the foot of the walls, a small beach of large pebbles; all around, one of the most impressive panoramas of the island.
How to get there
- Hydrofoil
- Ferry
Hours and prices
Free entry.
Tips
The Scarrupata is reached more easily from the sea: you can rent a boat, with or without a skipper, or use the taxi-boat service from the beach of the Maronti, which includes it among its destinations. From land the access is steep and tiring: weigh the conditions and the season well, and go with a calm sea.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Scarrupata di Barano?
A stretch of high and wild coast on the southern side of Ischia, between Ischia Ponte and the Maronti, with walls of coloured volcanic rock collapsed towards the sea and a small pebble beach.
Why is it called Scarrupata?
«Scarrupata», in Neapolitan, means crumbled: the name describes the walls of tuff and volcanic rock collapsed towards the sea, remained wild and authentic.
How do you reach the Scarrupata?
More easily from the sea, with a rented boat or the taxi-boat from the Maronti; from land the access is steep and tiring, to be tackled with a calm sea.
More gems in Barano d'Ischia
Free beachesSpiaggia dei Maronti
Barano d'Ischia (NA)
The island's longest beach, golden beneath walls of tufo (volcanic tuff), where in places the sand steams and the seawater warms itself.
- In the water & diving
Fonte delle Ninfe Nitrodi
Barano d'Ischia (NA)
A garden of springs where waters once dear to Apollo and the nymphs flow, among olive trees and open-air pools, far from the sound of the sea below.
- In the water & diving
Terme di Cavascura
Barano d'Ischia (NA)
In a gorge carved into the rock, pools and grottoes used since antiquity: you descend a canyon to plunge into scalding waters gushing from the mountain.
- ◆ Nature
Grotta del Mago
Barano d'Ischia (NA)
The fishermen who took shelter here during storms swore they saw an old man with a silver beard sitting on the rocks, surrounded by three dancing women. Also called Grotta del Tempio del Sole, it was even sought by the Nazis, convinced it hid a doorway to the underworld.
- ◆ Hiking
Piano Liguori
Barano d'Ischia (NA)
The gentlest and most beautiful path on the island: you walk between rows of vines and cellars dug into the tufo (volcanic tuff), with the sea 300 metres below and Capri on the horizon. A few families still live here, and you can only get there on foot.
- ◆ Views & panoramas
Belvedere di Monte Cotto
Barano d'Ischia (NA)
The terrace from which the Maronti open up in full, from the Castello to the headlands of Sant'Angelo. Sunset without the crowd, and without a ticket.
More gems: Free beaches
Free beachesBaia di Ieranto
Nerano
The bay protected by the FAI that looks across at the Faraglioni of Capri, reachable only on foot among olive trees and scrub, with the clear water of an old quarry.
◆ Free beachesFiordo
Massa Lubrense
A cleft in the rock where the sea slips in, narrow and green, almost always shaded beneath high walls: you don't come here for the sun, but for the silence.
- ◆ Free beaches
Lido delle Monache / spiaggia libera di Posillipo e Riva Fiorita
Posillipo
Tiny coves among the rocks, once the bathing place of the nuns of a convent above the sea: almost secret free beaches, reachable mostly from the water.
- ◆ Free beaches
Baia di Trentaremi
Posillipo
A bay closed in by high cliffs of yellow tufo (volcanic tuff), with caves cut by the Romans: no road reaches it, only the sea and the kayaks slip in among the rocks.
- ◆ Free beaches
Capo Miseno e porticciolo di Acquamorta
Bacoli/Monte di Procida
The headland that closes the gulf and, at its foot, the little harbour of Acquamorta with the boats hauled ashore and the water shallow and clear.
- ◆ Free beaches
Cala di Mitigliano e grotta
Massa Lubrense
A path through olive trees drops down to the rocks, Capri looks an arm's length away, and the cave opens in the water like a hall of shadow and salt.