The local paper was breathless with excitement: “Rihanna, sirena sexy, a Ponza!” it shrieked. And me too! I was in Ponza as well! Though 24 hours ago I hadn’t even known the place existed. (Mind you, I am pretty shaky on the exact status of Rihanna.)

The Pontine islands are a dragon-backed scattering of humps sticking up out of the sea south of Rome, where those in the know (which means knowing that they exist) take cool weekend breaks – including, so I was told, Beyoncé and Jay Z. And now, of course, Rihanna - “sirena sexy”. Given that the main island was, according to the New York Times, “a real treat for geologists”, this was a new insight into the leisure requirements of some of our more celebrated recording stars.