Spiaggia delle Fumarole
Serrara Fontana (NA)
KnownNature
The story
Near Sant'Angelo the sand burns from the steam rising underground: here eggs are cooked beneath the grains and the swim becomes a thermal ritual.
The story
The Beach of the Fumaroles is at the end of the Maronti, near Sant'Angelo, on the island of Ischia. It is a stretch of coast made unique by the island's volcanic activity: beneath the sand and in the shallow water vapours and geothermal heat rise, so much so that the sand in some points is scorching, and by tradition food was cooked there by burying it.
What to see
A rare natural phenomenon: jets of steam, hot sand and warm water that testify to the volcanic heart of Ischia, at the end of one of the most beautiful beaches of the island.
How to get there
- Hydrofoil
- Ferry
Hours and prices
Free entry.
Tips
It is a real risk, not a detail: the sand and the shallow water reach very high temperatures, which can scald. Do not walk barefoot on the hot sand, watch the children and bathe only where the water is at a safe temperature. It is reached from the Maronti or from Sant'Angelo, also by sea with the taxi-boats.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the sand of the Fumaroles scorching?
Because of the geothermal heat of Ischia's volcanic activity, which rises beneath the sand and in the shallow water: in some points the sand is hot enough to cook food.
Is the Beach of the Fumaroles dangerous?
Yes, for the risk of scalding: the sand and the shallow water can be boiling. It should be frequented with care, without walking barefoot on the hot sand and watching the children.
Where is the Beach of the Fumaroles?
At the end of the beach of the Maronti, near Sant'Angelo, on the island of Ischia.
More gems in Serrara Fontana
VillagesBorgo di Sant'Angelo
Serrara Fontana
A car-free fishing village, its terraced houses stepping down to a sandy isthmus tied to the islet: a little square, boats, and the fumarole of the nearby Maronti beach.
Sacred artEremo di San Nicola all'Epomeo
Serrara Fontana (NA)
A hermitage carved entirely out of the tufo just below the summit of the Epomeo. Here, in the eighteenth century, Giuseppe d'Argouth, commander of the Castello Aragonese, withdrew: after a life of arms he became a monk and died here, in a cell of rock.
- ◆ Hiking
Bosco della Falanga
Serrara Fontana (NA)
A chestnut wood full of houses carved inside the boulders: the farmers lived in the stone, and in a pit dug into the ground they stored the snow of the Epomeo to sell it in summer as ice. The wood is still there, the houses too, empty.
- ◆ Nature
Pietra dell'Acqua
Serrara Fontana (NA)
A huge block of green tufo (volcanic tuff) with a basin carved into its top, which collects rainwater. No one knows for certain who cut it or why: some speak of an altar, some of a watering trough, some say nothing at all.
- ◆ Hiking
Sentiero dei Pizzi Bianchi
Serrara Fontana (NA)
A canyon of white tufo (volcanic tuff) pinnacles that look like melted candles, carved by water over thousands of years. The path drops down among them and ends, almost as a joke, facing the sea of the Maronti.
More gems: Nature
◆ NatureOrto Botanico
via Foria
Founded in the Napoleonic age, the botanical garden on via Foria lines up glasshouses, palms and rare species across twelve hectares: a green breath a step away from the traffic.
◆ NaturePedamentina di San Martino
Vomero→centro
A fourteenth-century stairway dropping from the hill of San Martino down to the city: hundreds of steps through vegetable plots, gardens and glimpses of the bay — one of the finest urban paths in Naples.
NatureVilla Comunale
Riviera di Chiaia
The garden stretched out along the sea at Chiaia: avenues of holm oaks, benches and old statues, with the gulf breathing beyond the iron railing.
NatureAcquario Anton Dohrn
Riviera di Chiaia
The oldest aquarium in Europe, opened in 1874 inside the Villa Comunale: historic tanks inhabited only by the fauna of the Gulf of Naples, behind the glass.
NatureSolfatara
Pozzuoli
The ground breathes: hissing fumaroles, mud that boils up and a smell of sulphur reminding you how alive the earth is beneath the Campi Flegrei.
- ◆ Nature
Vigna di San Martino
collina S. Martino
One of the largest urban vineyards in Europe, worked by the Carthusians since the fourteenth century: seven hectares of vines, citrus and olive trees hanging over the bay, a step from the city's chaos.