The largest of the Pontine Islands between Rome and Naples, Ponza is a volcanic remnant lying 33 km south of Cape Circeo, in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It’s a mixture of vividly coloured cliffs and crags 12 km long and never more than 2 km wide. Such rocks, kaolin and tufa has eroded into fantastic shapes, inspiring names like ‘the monk’ and ‘the giant pair of pants’. You look down on stepped terraces of vines, cactus pears and fig trees, ancient and modern. Photo by: melazeta

Ponza was once a Roman penal colony for unwanted Christians. Its isolation also served for the Roman Emperor Nero’s exile and again for Mussolini in 1943. Today the clusters of domed pastel cubes that are the hallmark of Ponsese architecture are exclusive in a different way. Photo by: lele orpo

The island is protected from development, and existing residents have curtailed neon bars and discos. You don’t have to be rich to enjoy its remoteness beauty and terrific diving, but Ponza’s style certainly favours the wealthy Italians who holiday there. Photo by: [hirony]

When to go: April to October. Come for the festival of San Silverio, Ponza’s patron saint, around 20 June. Population: 3,315. How to get there: By hydrofoil from Anzio or Naples, by ferry from Formia, Anzio and Terracina, to Ponza. Photo by: [hirony]

Photo by: ronnybas