VULCANO, Sicily — On the Vulcanello promontory, looking onto one of the most cinematic stretches of the Mediterranean, Pierpaolo Tiretti runs Therasia Resort, Sea and Spa, the design-led retreat that occupies a piece of Italian television history. The villa was once Mike Bongiorno’s, the man who effectively invented Italian TV. His celebrity rolodex laid the groundwork for what is today one of the Aeolian Islands’ most discreet hotels.
Tiretti, himself from Ischia, runs the property for the Polito family, who began at Parco Maria on Ischia in the late 1960s and arrived on Vulcano in 2001. Therasia now combines Michelin-starred dining, micro-residences and a spa programme built around the volcanic fanghi (sulphurous mud baths). Michael Jordan dropped anchor in the bay this season. Italy Now spoke to Tiretti at sunset.
Q. What pulls this particular kind of traveller to Vulcano?
“Vulcano attracts people who already know the world-famous destinations and are now searching for something authentic and discreet. Here they find silence, nature, privacy and an emotional connection with the island and the people.”
Q. The volcanic mud baths, what do guests actually experience?
“The fanghi are part of Vulcano’s identity. People come for the natural benefits but also for the experience itself. It is raw, chaotic, completely unforgettable. Even at night, when the baths are closed, you find people jumping the fence. By day, heads bob in the mud and nearby the sea bubbles where hot water meets cold.”
Q. How does a family from Ischia end up with Michelin-starred dining on Vulcano?
“The Politos started with genuine hospitality at Parco Maria in the 1960s, then arrived here in 2001 and fell in love with the place. We started simple and we remain simple, because luxury is in simplicity. Luxury is time, space and authentic things.”
Q. One moment a guest never forgets at Therasia?
“The sunset. Every day of the year it falls differently. In April the sun goes down between Alicudi and Filicudi. In May it sets on top of Filicudi. When the sky is clear, when there are clouds, it is never the same. I have twenty years of sunset pictures.”
Therasia Resort, Sea and Spa runs from spring through autumn on the Vulcanello promontory, reached by hydrofoil from Milazzo. The island is at its quietest in the shoulder seasons.
