Tifeo's Path, the Sleeping Giant. - Green Tufa and Stone Houses Path

According to an ancient legend, the giant Typhoeus challenged Zeus and was defeated. The god buried him beneath the island of Ischia, which formed right over his body. It is said that the rumblings of the volcano are still the sighs of the sleeping giant. Among the most interesting trails of the "Path of Typhoeus the Sleeping Giant" are the Green Tufa and Stone Houses trails.
In particular, the section that begins or ends in the churchyard of the Church of Santa Maria al Monte, a 16th-century rock church.
From here, you enter the Falanga Forest, a dense chestnut grove where enormous blocks of tuff, shaped by the wind, become true natural monuments. Among them are the Pietra Perciata and the ancient Stone Houses, hand-hewn into the rock to provide shelter for farmers and shepherds.

A little further on, you'll find the rock-cut palmenti, where must was produced for centuries, and the snow pits, deep cavities used to store Epomeo snow during the summer, and a green tuff sculpture depicting the Head of Typhoeus.

The trail is quite narrow in some places and features irregularly stepped sections, so it's recommended to wear hiking shoes and bring water and walking poles.

Although Falanga is now a forest, until the 19th century it was a large vineyard: the parracine, the dry-stone walls that supported the terraces, still preserve the memory of this past.
Continuing upward, the landscape opens up to the Frassitelli: a peak of Epomeo, an acacia forest... and a wine famous far beyond the island.
From this natural terrace, 600 meters above sea level, the view encompasses the entire Forio area: from Sorgeto to Punta Caruso, with the neatly arranged Biancolella vineyards at their feet, a symbol of Ischia's heroic viticulture, and in the distance the Pontine Islands and the Lazio coast.
Here you can breathe in the most authentic and hidden soul of Ischia. The soul of Tifeo.