What is Ischia?
Fellini by the sea, perhaps? Much the biggest of the three islands, Ischia is little known in England, although it’s been a traditional holiday destination for Italians and Germans since the 1960s, when the islanders underwent a quasi-religious conversion from farming to tourism at the hands of Angelo Rizzoli, a multimillionaire publisher and movie magnate. “A sort of benevolent, apolitical Berlusconi of his day, Rizzoli discovered Ischia, loved it, built a five-star hotel and spa, La Regina Isabella, and relentlessly cross-promoted the island in his publications and films, as well as importing stars such as Catherine Deneuve, Charlie Chaplin, Gina Lollobrigida, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor to rival Capri. He ended up producing La Dolce Vita and 8½ for Fellini, who immortalised him by casting a Rizzoli lookalike as “the producer” in 8½. “There’s something Fellini-esque about Ischia, once you get past the 300 hotels and the coastal strip of resort towns that blend into each other
