Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Hidden Italy: Go off the radar on Puglia’s Tremiti Islands


Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/flavianiccolini/

The Tremiti Islands in northern Puglia are Italy’s most off-the-radar archipelago. They are a cluster of five islands floating in the Adriatic Sea, twenty kilometres off the coast of the Gargano Peninsula, the ‘spur’ on the ‘boot’ of Italy. 

The islands have been inhabited since antiquity, in fact, the legend goes that they were created by the Greek hero Diomedes from stones that he had carried across the waters from Troy. Their glory days were in the late Middle Ages, when a large Benedictine monastery thrived here but for much of their history, the Tremiti Islands have been a floating prison.

Their most famous ‘guest’ was Giulia, the granddaughter of Emperor Augustus, who was sent here after committing adultery. She died here twenty years later. The islands continued to be used as a place of exile until modern times: in the 1930s, gay men were interned under very harsh conditions here until Italy entered the war, and it was all hands on deck.

Today, these gorgeous islands have a much happier aspect and are flooded with Italian tourists in the summer months. There are five islands, each with its own personality. San Domino and San Nicola are the largest. The other three, Capraia, Cretaccio and Pianosa are uninhabited, the latter being unvisitable as it is a nature reserve.

With their limestone bluffs, rocky beaches and translucent turquoise water, the islands seem more Croatian than Italian. Most ferries arrive at the islands’ ‘capital’ San Domingo. Its port is surrounded by white cliffs, crowned with Aleppo pines. To the right, the Abbazia di Santa Maria a Mare, the 11th-century abbey built by Benedictine monks, dominates the skyline of San Nicola. Fishing boats crowd the waters between.

The Tremiti Islands are a very pleasant place to visit, particularly in the shoulder seasons, May/June and September/October, when the crowds have left and the Tremitis rediscover their laid back island vibes.

How to get there:

By rail/ferry: Probably the simplest to get there is to take a train (on the Ancona/Bari line) to Termoli or Vasto and then catch a ferry from there. Ferries also run from the lovely coastal towns of Rodi Garganico, Peschici and Vieste on the northern coast of the Gargano peninsula, but these towns aren’t on the train line and are a little harder to get to. The ferry trip from Termoli to San Domino takes around one hour. The following lines run ferries to the islands: NLG (www.nlg.it), GAG (www.navitremiti.com) and GSTravel (www.gstravel.eu). By air: For a real thrill you can catch a helicopter from Foggia airport to San Domino (alidaunia.it) which takes around 30 minutes. There are daily flights and high season fares per adult are 60-euro one way. The nearest international airports are Bari and Pescara.

Where to stay:

Hotel Kyrie (San Domino). This 4-star hotel is a short walk from the Cala Tramonto beach. It is surrounded by pines trees and has a large pool. It also has an excellent restaurant serving Pugliese specialities.

Hotel La Vela (San Domino, Via Amerigo Vespucci, 17). This 3-star hotel overlooking Cala Matano is a one hundred metre stroll from the centre of town. It has 12 rooms, some with sea views, the others with garden views.

Hotel San Domino (San Domino, Via Matteotti 1). Another 3-star hotel which is a ten minutes’ walk from the port. It has 25 comfortable rooms and a fruit and vegetable garden that services their excellent restaurant.

B&B La Casa di Gino (San Nicola, Viadei Forni). A very comfortable B&B in the centre of town with six tastefully designed rooms with en suite bathrooms. Breakfast is served on the terrace, which has beautiful views over the bay.

Where to eat:

Da Enrichetta (San Nicola, Piazza Marconi 2). This small restaurant with only 30 places is tucked under the walls of the fort. It is recommended dishes include prawn cheesecake, spaghetti with chilly, garlic, raw prawns and burrata, and grilled octopus served on potato puree with dried tomatoes and lime. From 50 euro pp.

La Fenice (San Domino, Via Beato Giovanni di Foligno, 4). While focussing on seafood, this restaurant also has dishes for vegetarians, vegans and gluten intolerants. Its signature dishes are seafood tartare and freshly caught local fish cooked to your wishes. They also do a mean wild fennel liquor. Around 40 euro pp.

La Nassa (San Domino, Via Aldo Moro 24). In the centre of town, this buzzy restaurant has a sailor vibe. Local chef Tiziana Greco’s specialities include orecchiette alla Nassa, served with cherry tomatoes, mussels, scampi and baby clams and the Teraina, short tube pasta with local fish, olives, cherry tomatoes and capers. From 40 euro pp.

Friday.

Catch the ferry over from the ‘continent’ (or the helicopter if you like thrill), check in to your accommodation, have a swim and then make your way down to the port for an aperitivo and a seafood dinner.

Saturday: Explore on foot.

With an area of two hundred- and eight-hectares San Domino is the largest island of the archipelago. The local spin doctors like to call it the Orto di Paradiso, Heaven’s Garden, because of strips of fertile land covered in vineyards and olive groves and the Aleppo pine forest which covers nearly half of the island.

San Domino has a perimeter of ten kilometres, a rocky foreshore of bays, caves, cliffs and small beaches. You can spend a very pleasant day leisurely exploring this piratical coastline on foot. Make sure you take your swimmers, plenty water and a picnic lunch!

There are basically two walking trails. The Strada della Pineta is only one kilometre long and cuts the island in two, passing through the pine forest and climbing up to the highest point of the island before descending to the lighthouse.

The second trail is a three-kilometre loop that follows the coastline. It takes around an hour on foot or twenty minutes on a mountain bike. Along the way, easy tracks lead down to the water. The best swimming beaches, in order, are Cala delle Arene, the only sizeable sandy beach, Cala dello Spido, with its emerald green water, and Cala Matano, opposite which is the house of late, great singer/songwriter Lucio Dalla, who dedicated one his albums to the beach, Luna Matana.

The southern tip of the island has two beautiful beaches, Cala delle Roselle and Cala di Zio Cesare. Close by the Grotto of the Bue Marino, a cave that stretches seventy metres into the cliff face, the Ripa dei Falconi, and the Architiello, a large natural arch. The northern tip has three good beaches, Cala Tramontana, Cala Tonda and Cala Tamariello. From here the path takes you back towards the port passing the Pagliai, large rock formations that resemble summer haystacks, hence the name.

If you’d prefer to ride these trails, mountain bikes can be hire from Fluffy Bike (Via della Cantina Sperimentale 5, San Domino).

The Tremitis second island, San Nicola, is home to an architectural gem from the Middle Ages: the Abbey of Santa Maria a Mare (St Mary of the Sea), which was founded by the Benedictine monks in 1045. Beyond this abbey/fortress is a series of defensive structures which stretch above the coast and are known as the Badiali Castle. The abbey is a fascinating mixture of styles through the ages. The imposing portal and façade are from the 15th century, while the interior conserves the original plan for the 11th century. The pavement is covered in beautiful mosaics are from the 11th and 12th centuries, as is the statue of St Mary of the Sea, the protector of the islands.

The rest of the island of San Nicola, four hectares with a perimeter of four kilometres, has a spectacular three-kilometre walking trail with panoramic views over the sea. Like all the islands, the limestone foreshore od San Nicola is pitted with caves and grottoes, including the Ferraio Grotto and the unfortunately named Grotto of the Testa di Morte (Death’s Head) on the southern side and the Grotto of the Madonna, near the Marinella Beach. Pianoro Asinaro, the headland at the far end of the island, offers breath-taking views of the sunset and sun rise.

Sunday: Explore on water.

Exploring the rocky coastline of beaches and bays of these islands by boat is probably the best way to explore the islands. For a relaxed day out, you can let someone else do the driving and enjoy a leisurely cruise around island in a local boat. The Victor, beautifully adapted former fishing boat is a fine example. Capitan Roberto takes you on a five to six hour ‘giro’ of the islands, with plenty of opportunities to stop for swims. There tour includes lunch and aperitivi (https://motonavevictor.it).

Otherwise, there are plenty of choices in the ports of San Domino and San Nicola for the more adventurous to hire their own ‘gommone’, or rubber dinghy, for the day, including Angela La Riccia delle Tremiti, +39 329 492 7525 and Rental Inflatables from Tullio, +39 330 367 320 in San Domenico and In Gommone con Simone, +39 329 492 7525 in San Nicola.

Diving enthusiasts flock to the Tremiti for their underwater caves, rock archways and wreckages of second world war planes, as well as the black coral, barracuda and lobster. The islands offer dives of all levels, from beginner to expert. One of the most celebrated dives is Cernia off the island of Caprara, a 25 metre dive with plenty of sea life around you. Otherwise, for the more experienced, there is the dive off Punta Secca, also off the island of Caprara, which is counted as one of the ten best in the Mediterranean.

There is also plenty to see with a snorkel too. In fact, the archipelago offers twenty-three underwater trails, marked for taking in the marine flora and fauna, including one that takes you to a 16th-century Ottoman shipwreck, scattered with starfish and octopuses (octopi?).

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