* Villa La Colombaia (Forio) – The Villa, which is surrounded by a superb park, was the residence of the movie director [9] Luchino Visconti. It is now the seat of an cultural Institution dedicated to Visconti, which is involved in promoting cultural activities such as music, cinema, theatre, art exhibitions, work-shops, and cinema reviews. There is a museum dedicated to Luchino Visconti as well. The Villa and the the Park are accessible to public visits.

* Villa La Mortella – (Forio – San Francesco) -
La Mortella Gardens – Forio d’Ischia
La Mortella Gardens – Forio d’Ischia
This park is located at Forio d’Ischia and was originally the property of the English composer [10] William Walton, who lived in the Villa next door with his Argentinian wife, Susanna. The composer, arrived on the island in 1946, planting wonderful tropical and Mediterranean plants, some of which have now reached amazing proportions.

* The Castle – Castello Aragonese (Ischia Ponte) - Is one of the most striking monuments on the island. It stands on a small island near Ischia Ponte and is reached by crossing a stone bridge. The castle is about 113 meters high and the climb can be made on an old mule track or by using a modern elevator that was installed in the seventies. The castle was built in 1441 by Alfonso D’Aragona on top of the ruins of an old fort that dated back to 474 B.C. This fortified castle was used to protect Ischia’s population from pirate attacks. One of the exhibits in the castle is dedicated to various forms of medieval torture.

* Guevara Tower – Ischia Ponte - The tower represents as well as Castello Aragonese one of the best known symbols of the island. It is called Guevara or Michelangelo’s Tower and is located in front of the Castle, and is surrounded by a lawn and facing the Sant’Anna rocks. The tower was rebuilt over the ruins of an earlier ancient fortress: it is likely one of the defence towers built from the 15th century to protect the Castle and the coast against enemy attacks. The tower derives its name from the Dukes of Guevara who were the owners since 1800. Its second name derives from a legend that [11] Michelangelo, who was a friend of the poet [12] Vittoria Colonna, stayed in the tower when he was visiting the island. The tower is nowadays used as arts exhibition centre.

* Il Torrione – Forio – Since at least the 9th century many towers were constructed along Ischia coastline to provide warning and to defend the island from raids by pirates. One of those tower, called “Torrione” still exists. This tower is located in Forio, near the harbour. It was built in 1480, and has two floors: the ground floor has no access from outside and was used as for storing weapons and munitions, and a rain-water tank; on the upper floor, there was accommodation for the garrison (about 10 people) led by a “torriere” that had the task of quickly sighting of any enemy ships and sounding the alarm. On the top, there was a terrace provided for four cannons. Historians notice that many similar towers were built in Forio until the 18th century, however although many of them were now used as private residences of noble families. Sixteen similar fortresses have been counted between 1480 and 1700, plus five more towers built in the district of Panza, some with a squared base and others with a circular base. Many of these towers are still standing and are mainly private residences. The “Torrione”, after it had been restored, became a municipal Museum (on the lower floor) while the upper floor was the home of the artist Giovanni Maltese from Forio and is now an art gallery hosting his pictures and sculptures collection.

* A. Rizzoli Museum The Angelo Rizzoli Museum is located in Villa Arbusto and contains a picture gallery about Angelo Rizzoli’s stay on the island. He used to stay in Lacco Ameno where he promoted the restructuring of the ancient Santa Restituta baths and sponsored the construction of a series of large luxury hotels which in the 50′s and 60′s were the much loved destination for cinema stars and international jet-setters.

* Pithecusae Museum - Lacco Ameno – The Pithecusae Archaeological Museum is located at the main building of Villa Arbusto, in Lacco Ameno. The Villa was built in 1785 by Don Carlo Acquaviva, Duke of Atri, in the same place where a farm called “dell’arbusto” (“arbusto” means “ shrub” , in this case the reference is to a particular plant growing in the garden surrounding the building) existed. Over the years the Villa had many owners, until 1952, when it was purchased by the publisher and movie producer Angelo Rizzoli who sponsored the reconstruction of the ancient thermal bath, the construction of some large hotels and the restoration of Piazza Restituta in Lacco Ameno’s main piazza. Villa Arbusto also has a splendid public garden. The museum houses many archaeological exhibits dating from the Prehistory to the Roman era. On the ground floor there is also a geological section, which explains how the presence of the volcanoes affected life on the island.

* - Forio – This church is devoted to “Santa Maria della neve” (Saint Maria of the snow), and was built on a steep promontory from which it takes its name. As with the “Torrione” tower, it is the symbol of the town of Forio and it is one of the most original architectural structures on the island. The Soccorso was founded as an Augustinian convent in about 1350 but it was suppressed in 1653, with its present form going back to 1864. The church is accessible by 20 steps of piperno, which leads to a small atrium with five crosses of pipernio. This church is world famous not only for its location but also for its singular facade, which is white and adorned by precious 700 majolicas representing saints and scenes of the Passion of Christ. The Soccorso’s style is very original, it reassumes some architectures as Greek-Byzantine, Moorish and Mediterranian in harmonic shapes. The inside is very interesting because of the many types of volta. In the left chapel there is a thaumaturgical cross, a sculpture of Catalan inspiration, surely made on the 16th century. Close to this cross there are two marble medals, that were found in a medieval sarcophagus that was found in the castel of the antique cathedral of Ischia. This church retains various artifacts such as a shovel made by Cesare Calise that represents Saint Augustine, and a small basin of pipernio dated from the 9-10th century. On 05 May 2002, during his Pastoral Visit, Pope John Paul II met with many young people in a square adjacent to the church of Our Lady Help of Christians.