Ischia 2026 · Field plan · Forio → the summit → the rabbit
The island's highest point at 789 m, climbed in the cool of the morning — then lunch on rabbit and bruschetta at La Grotta da Fiore, the family tavern carved into the summit itself. One way up, lunch at the top, the same way down.
With dinners now staying in Forio — walkable, no driving, drinks with no taxi to chase — Thursday opens right up. It's a free day: start the climb in the cool of the morning, reach the summit by late morning, and settle in for a noon lunch at La Grotta da Fiore right at the top. It also leaves Friday as an easy last day before Saturday's ferry.
Prefer a slower morning? La Grotta serves 9:00–18:00, so you can leave at 09:30, summit nearer noon, and walk straight in for lunch — no waiting around.
Hotel Umberto a Mare → the village square at Fontana, on the SS270 / Via Provinciale.
Winding but easy in the Fiat 500 — small is an advantage on these lanes. Watch for scooters and oncoming traffic on the blind hairpins. The road climbs steadily from the coast up through Panza and into the hills.
Parking: aim for the square in Fontana, by the small church with the statue of Jesus — that's where the trail begins, at the bend where the bus stops. Spaces are limited and fill up, so an early arrival matters. If the square is full, there's free roadside/lot parking just below in the Serrara–Fontana stretch, and some hikers leave the car near a bar (e.g. Miscillo) along the way up.
▸ Navigate hotel → FontanaFrom Fontana square, turn at the church, follow the signposts uphill. Signposted the whole way.
It starts as a paved lane, eases into a chestnut wood, then narrows to a track and a final steep-ish path carved into the soft tuff rock. Short but genuinely steep near the top.
Right at the 789 m summit — a tavern carved into the volcanic tuff, with a terrace over the whole island.
Family-run since 1965 and reachable only on foot — there's no road, the climb is the way in. You eat in the cave or out on the terrace, looking down at Forio, the Castello Aragonese, Capri and the Bay of Naples.
What to order: bruschetta, the house prosciutto and goat cheese, pancetta, fried potatoes from their own fields, and the prized coniglio di fossa (pit-roasted rabbit) — all washed down with local Biancolella.
The same path back to Fontana, then the short drive down to the hotel.
Take the descent slow — the worn tuff is slippery underfoot, more so than the climb. Back at the car by mid-afternoon, then the SS270 down to Forio. Easy evening: dinner in town on foot, drinks with no drive home.
▸ Navigate Fontana → hotelDropping the out-of-town dinners did the work here: with Pietratorcia gone, Thursday no longer doubles up on rabbit, and there's no late drive or taxi to arrange — you climb in the morning, lunch on the mountain, and roll back into Forio with the whole evening free and on foot.
If you'd rather keep Monday the 29th: the only catch is the fixed 10:00 car pickup at Nausicaa — you can't be on the trail until ~10:40, so you'd climb the exposed sections at the hottest, busiest time. Doable: start the moment you have the keys, carry extra water, take the descent slow.