Views from the Serrara Belvedere

The tiny village of Serrara is famous for its observation deck - the Belvedere, located at an altitude of 366 meters above sea level.

The Belvedere offers a stunning panorama that allows you to cover the entire southern coast of the island.

Directly below us, a steep slope descends to the sea, at the bottom of which lies the commune of Sant'Angelo.

The first thing that attracts the eye is a green conical island with a height of 106 meters, connected to the shore by a sandy bridge.

The island is a tuff massif formed when lava flows out of a fault in the earth's crust.

Over time, the waves created a sandy bridge between the rock and the shore, forming two bays. The rock protects the bays from sea winds and waves, so fishermen settled. In those early days, fishermen suffered from African pirates, so they built an observation tower on top of the cliff, and in case of danger, they moved there along a steep mountain path.

With the development of tourism, Sant'Angelo turned into a resort village and cozy hotels and restaurants appeared on the site of fishing shacks.

From Serrara to Sant'Angelo, you can follow the donkey trail that runs along the picturesque gorge - this is one of the popular trekking routes.

The path leads to the Apollo and Aphrodite Thermal Park and Maronti beaches.

Walking along the boardwalk to the right, we will look to the south-west of the island, which is occupied by the commune of Panza.

There we can see the two-humped cape of Chiarito (Ponta Chiarito) with Mount Pansa (Monte di Pansa), on top of which is the hotel and restaurant of the same name.

Here, too, there are thermal water outlets, on which small spa hotels are built.

Between Cape Chiarito and Sant'Angelo lies the small village of Succivio.

Further to the west, you can see the massive Capo Negro.

Further west is Cape Pilaro, where the four-star St. Leonard Hotel is located.

If you look down to the right, you will see the road to Forio, surrounded by stone fences.