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San Domino - Tremiti Islands
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Puglia: Tremiti Islands
Tremiti (Italian: Isole Tremiti) is an
archipelago of the Adriatic Sea, north of the Gargano Peninsula.
The Tremiti Islands form part of the Gargano national
park (Parco nazionale del Gargano); the name of the islands is
linked to their increased seismic hazard, with a history of earthquakes
- the source word tremolanti is linked to tremors.
The islands were used for the internment of political
prisoners during Benito Mussolini's Fascist régime.
This was not exactly
a novelty: two millennia earlier Augustus had sent his granddaughter
Julia the Younger in exile to one of these islands (then named
Trimerus).
The islands are now an important tourist attraction -
due to the clear waters surrounding them.
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The sea depths are very important, thanks to the clearness of the water, it is
possible to see in a few meters depth, colored sponges, colorful
fan-shaped annelids, sea urchins and starfishes. At a higher depth, it
is easy to admire blooming multicolored sea fans close to groupers,
morays, conger-eels, crawfishes. The Tremiti sea depths offer one of the
most exciting diving into the Mediterranean sea.
The Tremiti Islands
- San Domino is the most touristic developed
island and features the only sand beach in the archipelago.
This is the biggest of the Tremiti Islands although it has a surface
of only 0.81 sq.miles. It is also the best organized from the
touristic point of view, It is the only island where there is a wide
selection of accommodation alternatives. San Domino has many grottos
and is covered by a vegetation emitting a scent of pines and orange
blossom that is worth the name given to San Domino: "the green pearl
of the Adriatic Sea".
Plants in full bloom are a very common and characteristic
peculiarity of the pine-wood situated in the south-western part of
the island where you can see myrtles, geraniums and Indian figs. San
Domino is also the kingdom of cicadas and birds such as the
Diomedeas which produce a peculiar moan at night.
The legend says that the Diomedeas are the soldiers of Homer's hero
Diomede who were transformed into birds by Venus and forced to watch
over the islands that had been chosen as the home of the warrior. In
addition to its nature, the island also has an ancient history (as
the numerous remains found confirm).
San Domino has been inhabited since the 2nd millennium B.C. and was
subsequently visited by the Greeks and Romans. In the year 1000 it
was chosen as a hermitage by the Benedictine monks who later left
the island and settled in San Nicola.
All the hotels of the Tremiti Islands are on San Domino. The
connections with the main-land are excellent: those with a limited
time can use the all-year-round helicopter service from Foggia.
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- San Nicola is the island where the major part
of the population resides. It is the site of a monastery where a
monk named Nicolň was buried. The legend says that every time
someone tried to move his corpse off the island, a violent storm
would start, preventing navigation around the island.
In 1045 on the San Nicola Island, historical, religious and
administrative center of the Tremiti Islands, the Benedictine monks
of Montecassino built the Abbey of Santa Maria a Mare.
It was fortified by Charles of Anjou and in 1300 it suffered the
attack of the pirates. They destroyed the fortress and killed the
monks. The Abbey of Santa Maria is a beautiful harmony of Byzantine
and Romanesque art in the typical style of Benedictines and
Cistercians.
- Capraia (or Capperaia) is deserted, it
forms part of the national park.
- Cretaccio is in fact, a major block of clay,
and thus uninhabited.
- Pianosa is a small uninhabited island. Its
maximum height is 15 meters. Sometimes, during storms, the waves are
able to cover it.
Tremiti Islands accommodations |
How to get there (in Italian)
(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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