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The Tremiti Islands are in the Adriatic Sea, about twelve miles north of the Gargano Promontory and are divided into three major stretches of emerged land: San Domino, San Nicola and Capraia; there is an islet between the islands called Cretaccio and a smaller one called Pianosa.

The islands spread over an area of 1.15 square miles and the only inhabited ones are San Nicola and San Domino, with a population of about 350 residents – they’re probably the smallest town in Puglia but also the most famous for international tourism.

The archipelago is a true piece of paradise on Earth, with its crystal-clear waters full of fish, the clean air, and lush vegetation.

– San Domino, the largest island, is covered by a forest of Aleppo pines Pinus halepensis and holm oaks Quercus ilex – an absolutely wondrous natural landscape. The island offers the only real beach of the archipelago, “Cala delle Arene”; there are also some caves, such as “Grotta delle Viole”, which takes its name from the flowers (“violets”) that bloom inside in the spring. “Grotta del Bue Marino”, on the other hand, takes its name from the monk seals that took refuge inside it;

– San Nicola is rich in history and monuments: there are towers, fortifications, defensive walls, churches and cloisters of a fortress-abbey – Santa Maria a Mare, which has a remarkable historical and artistic value.

– Capraia is completely deserted, but covered with dazzling herbs and flowers; it’s the favoured destination and the perfect shelter of a colony of seagulls;

– Cretaccio is a natural bridge between San Domino and San Nicola and, for some time, it was really the “pillar” of a bridge that connected the two major islands;

– Pianosa, located about 12 miles from Capraia, is administratively part of the municipality of the Tremiti Islands and is an integral reserve of the Marine Park.

The famous Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla used to have a house in the Tremiti Islands, namely in San Domino.

For sea lovers and divers, but also for all kinds of tourists, the Tremiti Islands offer a must-see excursion: a visit to the statue of Padre Pio, near Capraia, at some 10 ft of depth, weighing 1.22 tonnes and resting on an 11-ton pedestal.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)