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Tremiti Islands

The Tremiti Islands are an Italian archipelago located in the middle of the Adriatic Sea, 22 km off the Northen coast of the Gargano Peninsula. They constitute a comune of Italy's Province of Foggia.

Understand

Not so far from the spur of Italy’s boot there are five little islands which constitute the only Italian archipelago of the Adriatic Sea.

“This place inspires my visionary way of narrating the world and it also helps to dream, especially if there is a wonderful starry sky, that otherwise you can admire only in the Sahara”. This is how the Tremiti Islands are described by, the Bolognese singer, who chose the archipelago as his second home.

The unspoilt nature, the crystal clear water and the variety of the colours of the seabeds of these islands, which currently are a marine reserve of the Gargano National Park from the 1989, attract every year thousands of visitors from all the world.

The Tremiti Islands, also known as "Pearls of the Adriatic Sea" are, indeed, the ideal place for a holiday in complete relaxation and for those who love experiencing close up the sea.

Territory and tourist destinations

The stunning archipelago of the Tremiti Islands is considered an authentic paradise and an exotic destination thanks to its clear and turquoise sea waters, its caves and its uncontaminated landscape, characterized by the rocky coves and craggy cliffs, even if they are just 22 km far from the mainland Puglia, easily reachable by boat.

A holiday in the Gargano cannot be complete without visiting the Tremiti Islands, which are a treasure chest full of extraordinary beauty waiting to be discovered. The archipelago is composed of five islands or “Diomedee”, according to the legend.

The five islands of the archipelago

San Domino

The most populated and touristic one is San Domino, the island that offers the majority of the accommodation facilities. The Lighthouse of San Domino is the emblem of the biggest island of the archipelago, covered by a stretch of Aleppo pines. Along the coastline, the rock crumbles in the caves, only reachable by boat. Not to be missed are the Grotta del Bue Marino and Punta di Ponente with their wrecks of a Roman ship.

San Nicola

The Island of San Nicola, inhabited by several orders of monks for almost one thousand years, is the historical heart of the Tremiti Islands. It is dominated by the fortified towers of San Nicola and the Abbey of Santa Maria a Mare, with its mosaic floor and impressive walls. Starting from the elegant cloisters of the abbey, the panoramic path embraces the whole island and leads to the Greek tombs.

Capraia

Capraia (even Capperaia or Caprara) is completely uninhabited and covered by several kinds of herbs and flowers including the caper bushes, that’s why this cute name. It is currently the favourite destination for the underwater divers, thanks to breathtaking diving in Punta Secca and Cala dei Turchi.

Cretaccio

Cretaccio, little more than a rock, is the smallest island of the archipelago. It is uninhabited and wild and looks like a natural bridge to connect the main islands: San Domino and San Nicola.

Pianosa

The island of Pianosa is the farthest, approximately 21 km from the others. Due to its limited height, when sea storms take place the island is completely submerged. The name of the island comes from its particular appearance: a plain of scree (what the Italians call a pianoro di pietraia).

Best time to visit Tremiti Islands

The Tremiti Islands' climate is strongly influenced by the sea and is typical of the Mediterranean.

The Tremiti Islands' tourist season runs from May to October. However, the best time to visit the archipelago is in September and October, thanks to the sunny climate, less crowding, less traffic jam at the marina and lower prices in comparison to August.

Historical background

What makes the archipelago an irresistible place is also the charm of its history that gets lost between the myth and the legend.

The islands were used as a confinement place since the Iron Age (4th-3rd centuries B.C.). The Roman Emperor Augustus exiled his granddaughter, Julia the Younger, to the Tremiti on charges of adultery. Diomedes, King of Argos – Roman copy of a statue by Kresilas from c. 430 BC. Glyptothek, Munich. In the 9^th century, the Benedectine monks founded the Abbey of Santa Maria a Mare, at San Nicola island, that ruled the archipelago during the Middle Ages. Later, the abbey hosted several orders of monks until 1783, when the King Ferdinand IV of Naples suppressed the abbey and set up a penal colony.

Under the Fascist Regime of Mussolini the Tremiti Islands continued to perform their function of confinement. Hundreds of homosexuals were deported, indeed, to the internment camp of San Domino, closed after one year in 1939.

Myth and legend

However, the documentation about the origin of this archipelago is poor. This lack of information has been filled by the blooming of several myths and legends. It is believed, indeed, that the islands have been born at the hands of the hero Diomedes, who threw into the sea five boulders that he had carried by him from Troy, which resurfaced as islands.

The legend continues with Diomedes who was buried in the Tremiti Islands and with its men transformed by the goddess Aphrodite in seabirds, called “diomedee”, which inhabit the cliffs of the archipelago and continue with their scream to mourn the death of their leader, even today. That’s why the Tremiti Islands are also called “Diomedee Islands”.

Get in

By Car

Bringing a car, a motorbike or a camper to the Tremiti Islands is generally not possible, only residents are allowed to have a vehicle.

By Boat

The best way to get to the islands is by ferry from the ports of Vasto, Vieste, Manfredonia, Peschici and Termoli. From Termoli, the main port, ferries depart everyday of the year (generally one-way trip takes about 1 hour), while from other ports there are only seasonal runs from July to September. The only year-round company from Termoli to Tremiti, Tirrenia, has a fast ferry (45 min.) and also slow ferry (1 hr., 40 min.) to San Domino.

By Helicopter

You can also reach the Tremiti Islands by helicopter, with the company Alidaunia, which offers flights lasting 20 minutes from Foggia to the San Domino Heliport.

Do

The Islands offer different things to do:

historical and cultural excursions to the island of San Nicola.
scuba diving and snorkelling around the seabed of all the islands, but above all of Capraia Island, where you can explore Punta Secca and Cala dei Turchi.
boat tour of the archipelago, visiting the caves like “Grotta delle Rondinelle” and “Grotta delle Viole” .
taking a walk around the Aleppo pinewoods of San Domino.
taking the panoramic path to the San Domino Lighthouse.
take a peek at the four metres statue of Padre Pio (popular local saint) on the seabed between Capraia and San Nicola Islands.