Close to Capri, but nicer - la dolce vita on Ischia

BUYING IN ITALY:Property is hard to come by on the island of Ischia, where families hand their seaside homes down from generation to generation

THERE’S A peach of an old building in the harbour of Lacco Ameno, the smartest resort on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of Ischia. It’s one of the more obscure holiday destinations in Italy, and the few English speaking tourists that do go there, tend to keep it to themselves.

Others have heard of the island, but aren’t exactly sure where it is, or what it is like. The answer is: close to Capri, but bigger and nicer. Ten kilometres off the Amalfi Coast, less than an hour by jetfoil, the island was a playground for Hollywood greats in the 1950s and 1960s but slipped off the international jet set map until it hit the silver screen again as the setting for The Talented Mr Ripley.

Back to the building by the sea in Lacco Ameno, a pretty resort that retains the feel of a fishing village, with boats pulled up to the beach and sea bream caught at dawn on the plate by noon.

The building is right on the beach, beside the five-star Hotel Regina Isabella where wealthy Milanese families come to splash about all summer, and where Roman Abramovich is known to drop by for lunch, when his huge yacht is anchored out in the bay.

It’s a crumbling three-storey house with greenery sprouting from its roof and vacant windows and it would be perfect for holiday apartments.

Its dingy façade stands out like a sore thumb beside the freshly painted, ice-cream coloured confection of the hotel, where suites cost up to €2,000 a night in high season. “Don’t even think about it,” said Carlo Cavandoli, the hotel’s property manager.

“We’ve tried to buy that building, a lot of our guests have tried to buy it but it will never be for sale. It’s owned by six brothers who can never agree. End of story.”

It seems typical of this island that such a prime bit of real estate is out of reach. In fact there is precious little for sale in Lacco Ameno, one of five resorts on the 20 square mile island which is famous for its benign weather.

There is little in the way of new development on the island and its holiday villas, which are snapped up by Italian footballers and film stars, are discreet and a bit careworn rather than spanking new.

Local families hand their seafront property down from generation to generation, renting them out in the summer months and retreating to the hills, and so the island keeps its charm. It’s difficult to find an estate agency. In Lacco Ameno there is a Remax, but they don’t hand out brochures and don’t speak English.

Neighbouring Capri gets all the attention and enough tourists to make its central square unbearable in high season. Ischia by contrast is peaceful – a green volcanic island of lush gardens, ancient ruins, old fishing villages, secret coves, and thermal springs that have brought elderly and wealthy Italians to the island since the 19th century.

Hollywood discovered Ischia in the 1950s after publisher and movie producer Angelo Rizolli gave the island a huge boost, building the hotel Regina Isabella on the site of an ancient spa, and relentlessly publicising the island, and the stars he invited to stay there through his magazines and newspapers.

The stars came and the paparazzi followed. Clark Gable, Charles Boyer, Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida. Cleopatra was filmed on the island and Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton stayed at the hotel, and had such a row one evening that she flung all his clothes out of the window of their suite.

Ischia’s appeal dimmed after Rizzoli died in 1970, but it came alive again when The Talented Mr Ripley was filmed there. Now the hotel hosts a film festival every July, when movies are projected onto a huge screen on a cliff in front of the hotel’s private beach.

Meanwhile, plans are underway to convert a vast villa, located on a headland above the hotel, into luxury apartments. Villa Isabella was built in the 1950s by a lady publisher, a rival to Rizolli, who was determined to have a grander home in a better location and so built a mammoth 2,300sq m (24,757sq ft) house with numerous terraces.

It was acquired by the hotel’s owner, Giancarlo Carriero, in recent years and is now being transformed into seven villa-sized apartments which are due for completion next spring.

Minutes from the hotel and set in generous grounds, the villa is being divided into seven large two and three-bedroom multi-level apartments all with sea views, large terraces, and access to a communal pool and lemon grove. There are steps down to a private beach and to a wooded promontory where a new restaurant will be built.

Prices for the fully furnished and rental ready units start at €2.7 million for a very large two-bedroom apartment with three terraces and a vast sittingroom looking out to sea.

The most expensive apartment at €3.5 million comes with a very wide terrace, while the most dramatic unit at €3 million has a staircase leading into a vast salon opening onto a wide terrace with classical pillars framing a knockout view of the bay.

Buyers at the villa will get access to the hotel’s facilities, such as the swimming pools and its spa: this is one of the largest in Europe with 60 treatment rooms and a full medical team to supervise use of its speciality – thermal mud treatments.

Also included is the use of the hotel’s sleek black and white motor yacht and VIP access to the film festival.The apartments are likely to attract a good rental income, with Ischia’s holiday season running from May to October, with the peak months being July and August.

The rental income is projected to be €92,000 to €139,000 a year depending on the size of the units, according to Cavandoli, though service charges are relatively big at around €8,000 per unit per year.

Those who sign up for the rental package via the hotel will pay an additional €10,000 to €15,000 for the service, which includes full housekeeping and security, while the hotel will also take 50 per cent of all rental income.

The prices are high, but a shortage of property on the island has made it relatively recession proof, says Cavandoli.

“There is so little development here,” he says, “you can buy an old villa but it will cost you a lot of money to convert it and get all the services to it. This is a hassle-free alternative, and it has the very best views.”

Lotto winners take note.

www.villaisabellaclub.com