ISCHIA, Italy — The cool, blue Mediterranean beckons beyond the fishing-boat-filled harbor that is home to L'Albergo della Regina Isabella (Hotel Queen Isabella).

Standing on our fifth-floor balcony, it's easy to imagine Richard Burton's clothes floating out there in that blue a few decades ago. Word is that the actor stripped and threw his clothes into the sea as a result of an argument when Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were hotel guests while filming "Cleopatra."

Current owner Giancarlo Carriero credits the resort's original 1956 developer, film producer Angelo Rizzoli, with introducing Ischia to the world. His films shot in Ischia put the resort on the map with jet-setters and stars including Ava Gardner, Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Sophia Loren, as well as Taylor and Burton.

The property remains active in the annual, local film festival, which in recent years has attracted Francis Ford Coppola, Naomi Watts and Dennis Hopper.

The island of Ischia (pronounced Is-kea), a 30-minute hydrofoil ride from Naples, is near Capri but larger, at about 49 square miles with about 60,000 people. About 700,000 foreigners visit each year.

The first town was founded about 770 B.C. by Greek settlers coming from Euboea, making it the oldest Greek colony in the Western Mediterranean. They called it Pithecusa and later tagged it "land of fire" or "land of springs." It still has the largest concentration of thermal springs anywhere for its size. The island has six municipalities: Casamicciola Terme, Lacco Ameno, Forio, Serrara Fontana, Barano and Ischia. Ischia and Forio are the most populated.

Owner Carriero suggests his guests tour the island by boat to experience its natural beauty, but adds that he also likes Ischia's interior. "That part of the island is authentic (with) its own traditions and history. For example, I like very much the small restaurants where they cook the rabbit the traditional, most ancient way."

But most first find this island because of its healing, thermal waters. Regina Isabella is one of dozens of resorts, its seaside setting in the thermal spa resort town of Lacco Ameno. The local landmark is the bay's 30-foot rock outcropping called fungo, or mushroom, for its shape. Many of the resort's 132 rooms overlook the bay where those small fishing boats dot the sand while gleaming yachts set anchor just beyond the sea wall.

Streetside, amid the blooming bougainvillaea and hibiscus, the resort shares a small square with the Sanctuary of Santa Restituita, now an archaeological museum where some of the saint's remains are buried. A wooden statue of her dating to 1500 still stands. So the hotel sits on the most ancient Christian site of Ischia, dating to the fifth century. One version of the patron-saint story says in her home of Africa, she was despised for her religion, so she was set on fire in a boat and set adrift; she miraculously survived to land on Ischia's shore.

Near that shore, the Hotel Regina Isabella's centerpiece is a small saltwater pool expertly staffed by weathered, smiling, pool men, quick with a towel. Service also arrives via efficient, silver-tray-toting wait staff in white tux jackets who leave you feeling like you could be on the set of "The Talented Mr. Ripley," which was also filmed, in part, on the island.

The hotel's extensive spa — 70 treatment rooms — is undergoing renovation, but remains open, offering not only pampering but medically supervised treatments. It's worth the appointment with Dr. Paolo Magrassi just to hear his hair-raising tales of medical volunteerism, including being shot at in Africa.

Reminiscent of a kindly, country doctor, the medical director suggests at least a sampling of treatments incorporating Ischia's thermal mud and thermal waters.

We meet a British bank professional who tells of incredible results for a rare back problem, and her aging mother, who shows marked improvement in her walking and balance over the week.

Nearly 40 percent of guests return for an average 12-day stay (covered annually by the Italian government as a health benefit).

Many swear by the healing mud, says spa manager Costanza Popolano, explaining it's part of nearly every guest's regimen, but with close monitoring and only after the required medical exam.

Research shows people using the thermal waters here for over 2,500 years.

Regina Isabella uses five specific springs rich in chlorides, sodium, bicarbonate, sulfates and magnesium. One source can be traced to the third century, when it was used by the Romans. The resort has Ischia's only seaside thermal spa, and is the only one using the thermal waters in its suites' plunge pools.

The entire island is known for its thermal baths, many in public settings, such as the fabulous, tiered Poseidon Thermal Gardens in Forio overlooking the Bay of Citara and Tyrrhenian Sea beyond. The site offers 18 thermal and treatment baths and pools, a Roman steam bath in a natural grotto, resplendent gardens, indoor pool, massage/ treatment area and a sandy beach.

Ischia is also known for the stunning Aragon Castle that sits on its own small islet, connected by paved walkway to Ischia Ponte, one of the main towns, a former fishing village, with small shops, eateries and houses.

The view from the top, accessed by elevator, is the quintessential Almalfi coast: Twinkling sun droplets on azure water in all directions.

The castle's former monastery is now a hotel, and the fortress once held 13 churches within its walls. In the 1500s, close to 1,000 families lived here, in part for protection against pirates.

Tour guide Francesca Annunziata asks if we mind seeing something "macabre," then takes us through the Nuns' Cemetery, several small rooms within the castle. The deceased nuns were placed on stone seats resembling toilets that allowed their decaying juices to drip down. The living nuns prayed in their company, focusing on the importance of the "spirit, not the body."

She tells us another island must-see awaits at the Archaeological Museum of Pithecusae, also in Lacco Ameno. That is home to the ancient Greek Coppa di Nestore, or Nestor's Cup, which Homer refers to in "The Iliad." The cup's inscription is said to be the first known, preserved Greek writing and translates: "I am the goodly cup of Nestor; whomsoever drinks of me, fair-crowned Aphrodite immediately will seize."

Also near Regina Isabella is La Mortella Ischia, botanical gardens created by the late Sir William Walton and his widow Lady Susana Walton, who still often greets visitors. A pair of British guests called it "stunning." Plants here come from all over the world, many having reached amazing proportions.

In addition, there's the Sea Museum and Farmer's Museum, the latter at D'Ambria, one of three wineries on the island.

Our tour guide tempts us with an invitation to return during the harvest season to help with the winemaking. Sounds like a plan.