Legend has it that Romans have been vacationing in Ponza since earlier than 300 BCE. They saw it as a secluded place to exile people they didn’t want around the empire — and also exile themselves when they needed a break from imperial life. Despite being a centuries-old holiday spot, it took me three stifling summers stuck within the Aurelian walls to discover the locals’ tightly guarded summer getaway. 

Ponza is a speck of an island, yet still the largest of the Tyrrhenian Sea’s Pontine archipelago. With its candy-colored facades and craggy cliffs jutting out of turquoise waters that look tailor-made for mermaids, this little fishing village is likened to Capri without the crowds.