Villa Arbusto (Coppa di Nestore)
Lacco Ameno
Hidden gemHistory & archaeology
The story
The museum villa of Lacco Ameno holds the Coppa di Nestore, an 8th-century BC vessel incised with one of the oldest Greek verses ever found.
Access
€
The story
Villa Arbusto, at Lacco Ameno, is an eighteenth-century residence (built in 1785, then bought by Angelo Rizzoli in 1952) that since 1999 has housed the Archaeological Museum of Pithecusae. It tells of the oldest Greek colony of the West, Pithekoussai, founded on Ischia as early as the eighth century BC.
What to see
The treasure of the museum is Nestor's Cup: a vase of the eighth century BC with three verses carved in the Euboean alphabet — among the oldest known Greek inscriptions, and a literary play on the cup of the hero Nestor in the Iliad. Around it, the finds of the necropolis of San Montano and the park of the villa.
How to get there
- Hydrofoil
- Ferry
Tips
The museum has its own entrance and hours: check on the official channels. You are at Lacco Ameno, a stone's throw from the Fungo and the sea. A short but precious stop to understand how ancient the Greek history of Ischia is.
Frequently asked questions
What is Nestor's Cup?
A Greek vase of the eighth century BC found on Ischia, with an inscription in the Euboean alphabet among the oldest known: it is kept in the Museum of Pithecusae, at Villa Arbusto.
What is the Museum of Pithecusae?
The archaeological museum of Lacco Ameno, in Villa Arbusto, dedicated to Pithekoussai, the oldest Greek colony of the West, founded on Ischia in the eighth century BC.
Where is Villa Arbusto?
At Lacco Ameno, on the island of Ischia, near the Fungo.
More gems in Lacco Ameno
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A tufo rock shaped by wind and sea until it came to look like a mushroom: it rises a few steps from the shore and has become the emblem of Lacco Ameno.
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On this promontory, in the 8th century BC, the Greeks of Euboea founded the first permanent settlement of the West. From here set out the alphabet that would become Rome's, and with it everything else.
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