Discover Chiaia di Luna

Chiaia di Luna is the largest inlet on Ponza, on the island's west coast: a narrow strip of sand under high tufa cliffs, curved like a crescent moon. In Neapolitan chiaia means beach, and the second half of the name is said to come from that crescent shape. A Roman tunnel of the Augustan age, cut entirely through the tufa, connects the beach to the port of Ponza.

The beach is closed, and so is the tunnel. Both available sources agree: one attributes the closure to the instability of the steep cliff and a rockfall that killed a tourist in 2001, the other calls the beach permanently closed because of falling rock from the collapsing cliff above, after tourists were killed while sunbathing, and adds that the Roman gallery is shut because its brickwork is failing. Steel cable netting has been installed on the face. The bay is now seen from the sea.

The inlet is the largest on Ponza and sits on the island's west side, enclosed by high tufa cliffs that stand over the narrow strip of sand forming the beach. It is bounded by Punta del Fieno to the south and Punta di Capo Bianco to the north, and its curve is the reason for the name -- in Neapolitan chiaia means beach, and luna is said to come from the crescent shape of the bay.

The geology is the whole story here. Ponza and the islet of Gavi are what is left of the caldera rim of an extinct volcano, a crescent-shaped island of 7.3 square kilometres running about 8.9 km long by 2.4 km at its widest, with a mostly rocky coast of kaolin and tuff. The island carries layers of kaolinite and bentonite that were mined commercially until 1975. Chiaia di Luna is a clean vertical section through that material, which is exactly why it is both spectacular and dangerous: tufa holds a near-vertical face until it does not.

Ponza has no active volcanism, which distinguishes it from Ischia, and the erosion of its soft rock has left the island full of arches, sea stacks and natural bridges -- the Arco Naturale o Spaccapolpi stands in deep water, and faraglioni of solid rock rise off several headlands. Capo Bianco, the point closing this bay to the north, is an Italian national natural monument in its own right.

There is no species inventory for this single bay in the available sources, so what follows is the ecology of Ponza, of which Chiaia di Luna is one cliff section.

The clearest evidence of what is at stake is regulatory. Four mines at the northern end of the island -- described in the source as its most beautiful area -- were closed down in 1975 by the Italian Environmental Protection Agency because the mining operation was destroying the wildlife and flora, which are endangered species. That is an unusually direct statement: the extraction of kaolin and bentonite was stopped on conservation grounds, not commercial ones. A planned airstrip for the north of the island was likewise cancelled over environmental concerns, which is why seaplanes call instead of aircraft landing.

The island's vegetation is heavily altered. Ponza was thickly forested with giant trees in ancient times; that forest is gone and the hillsides are covered with man-made terraces. Monte Guardia, the tallest hill, still carries the rotting stumps of those extinct giant trees, over eight feet wide. Most of the terraces are no longer worked and are falling apart for lack of maintenance, though grapes for wine, cactus pears and fig trees are still grown on some of them.

Around Chiaia di Luna itself the living cover is what can hold on to a vertical tufa face and a strip of sand beneath it -- and that face is now partly hung with steel cable netting installed to stop rockfalls.

As with biodiversity, the sources describe Ponza rather than this inlet specifically.

The animal the island's coast is best known for is the monk seal. The Bue Marino cave on Ponza is named as a cave where the seals used to find cover -- the past tense is the source's own, and it is the usual story for this species in the Tyrrhenian.

Marine life is still the reason most people go in the water here. Cala Gaetano is singled out for the variety of fish visible in spring, and the island's blue grottoes and sea caves are reached by boat. Commercial fishing has been placed under severe restrictions, enough that the source names it as a cause of the local economic downturn -- a constraint on the fishery that is also, in effect, a protection.

On land the fauna is largely domestic. Most islanders raise rabbits and chickens in coops for meat, along with goats, lambs and pigeons. The wild flora and fauna that the 1975 mine closures were meant to protect are concentrated at the northern end of the island, well away from this bay.

At Chiaia di Luna the practical point is that the cliff face is the habitat, and it is closed to people -- which, whatever the reason for it, leaves the birds and the vegetation on it undisturbed.

There is no open route onto this beach. That is the single most important access fact about Chiaia di Luna, and it has two parts.

The historic way in was the Roman gallery: a tunnel of the Augustan age cut entirely through the tufa, connecting the beach to the port of Ponza. That tunnel is closed, because its Roman brickwork has been collapsing. The beach beyond it is closed too -- the source describes it as permanently closed because of falling rocks from the collapsing cliff above, after tourists were killed while sunbathing there. The national park service has installed steel cable netting across the face to prevent further falls.

What is left is the sea and the clifftop. Boats round the west coast between Punta del Fieno and Punta di Capo Bianco and give the full crescent in one view; the same trip reaches the Grotta della Maga Circe, which lies on this side of the island between Capo Bianco and the beach, and the Grotta di Ulisse o del Sangue further along under the Belvedere headland. These caves are described as destinations reachable by boat only.

On land, Ponza has a single two-lane road running north to south that can take small cars only, and a bus runs the length of the island. Getting to the island at all means a boat: ferries from Naples, Terracina, Formia and Anzio, and hydrofoils from Anzio and Formia taking about 75 minutes. Severe weather stops both. There is no airstrip -- a planned one was cancelled on environmental grounds -- so seaplanes are the only alternative.

Note that closures on Ponza are not unique to this bay: the source says several formerly popular beaches are now permanently closed after falling rocks killed holidaymakers, and the Grotta di Serpente, a Roman tunnel maze, is largely blocked off for safety.

Can I go to Chiaia di Luna beach?

No. Both sources describe the beach as closed: the Italian one says access is interdicted because of the instability of the cliff and a rockfall that killed a tourist in 2001, and the English one calls it permanently closed after falling rocks from the collapsing cliff killed sunbathers. The Roman tunnel that led to it is closed as well.

Is the Roman tunnel open?

No. The Roman gallery, an Augustan-age tunnel cut entirely through the tufa from the port to the beach, is closed because its Roman brickwork is collapsing.

Then how do I see it?

From the sea. A boat round the west coast between Punta del Fieno and Punta di Capo Bianco gives the whole crescent, and takes in the Grotta della Maga Circe and the Grotta di Ulisse o del Sangue on the way -- both reachable by boat only.

What does the name mean?

Chiaia means beach in Neapolitan, and the Luna is said to come from the crescent-moon shape of the bay.

Why is the cliff so unstable?

Because of what it is made of. Ponza and Gavi are the remains of the caldera rim of an extinct volcano, and the coast is largely kaolin and tuff, with layers of kaolinite and bentonite. Tufa will stand in a near-vertical face until it fails.

Is this really Circe's island?

Ponza is suspected to be Aeaea in the Odyssey. The Grotta della Maga Circe, on the west side between Capo Bianco and Chiaia di Luna, is identified as her cave; she is said to have wintered there and spent summers on Monte Circeo on the mainland.

How do I get to Ponza?

By sea. Ferries run from Naples, Terracina, Formia and Anzio; hydrofoils from Anzio and Formia take about 75 minutes. Neither runs in severe weather. There is no airstrip -- one was planned for the north of the island and cancelled on environmental grounds -- so seaplanes visit instead.

Where can I actually swim on Ponza?

Other beaches: Frontone, Santa Maria, Le Forna and Spiaggia delle Felci are all named, and Le Forna has a natural saltwater swimming pool. Be aware that several formerly popular beaches on the island are also permanently closed because of rockfalls.

Has the closure been lifted?

Not as far as could be verified. The Comune di Ponza publishes a register of dangerous and interdicted areas with seasonal reopening orders for several coves, and no order for Chiaia di Luna appears in it -- but its two general danger-zone ordinances are scanned documents that could not be read. Ask the comune on 0771 80108 before making plans.