Giola

Nor far from the southern village of Astris is a small, circular lagoon that has been known from the rock by the sea.

Giola isn’t easy to get to, as you have to drive a dirt road for a couple of kilometres from Astris and then walk, but it’s a place that merits a bit of effort. There’s a perfectly clear pool of water, 15 metres in diameter and surrounded by a bowl of rock, which is naturally tiered like the rows in an amphitheatre.

There are lots of places to lay a towel, but not much shelter from the sun. On the seaward side of this arena the rock narrows to just a couple of metres across, and when the water’s calm you can also step down to bathe in the sea.