Hear fisherman tales, sleep in sea caves, and see the ancient underworld.
Say you were look to sun on a crimson and pitch-black pebble beach thatlooks like a corner of Mars , surrounded by volcanic , xanthous S - rich cliffswhere ocean turtles come pose their egg . If this sounds like your jam , this transcendental terminus is really just one of many under - the - radiolocation Italian islands where you ’ll find nothing but prickly pears , caper , and utter silence .
On this and a handful ofother remote Italian paradises , you ’ll be one of few exclusive tourists . Forget the common crowded beaches with hollo kid and the parked lavishness yachts you ’ll likely get in Liguria or Sardinia . These atoll are unidentified even to many Italians , but are rich with ocean grot , mythological beaches , and ancient legend to go with them .
Whether you ’re await to snorkel among friendly baby barracuda , admire dayspring from a unfrequented cliff on an uninhabited isle , dine on succulent dwarf runt , or drink wild common fennel liqueur with your metrical unit in the urine , here are some of the most secret and sensational islands in Italy .
Flavio Vallenari/E+/Getty Images
Get high on sulfur vapor in the ancient underworld of Vulcano
Vulcano Island is sort of what we imagine Hades might look like , but in a really precious fashion . This most groundless island of the Aeolian Archipelago has an active vent and is kinda like an open - air spa . You ’ll observe bubbly sea fumaroles that serve as natural jacuzzis , a steaming clay bath to aliment the skin , and acrid vapour , conceive to heal sore throat , oozing out at every street corner .
It ’s also super - hot . It ’s really no marvel the ancient Romans consider the islet to be the entrance to the underworld . For some rude treatments , hoi polloi sit for 60 minutes inhaling the gas but watch out if you have downcast blood pressure or it could make you faint . Another warning for the scorching lime of the mud bath : great for the hide , but not so great for the hair , so annul rinsing your locks .
All that being allege , you ’ll be dazzled by the spellbinding lunar scene here : rock ‘n’ roll are blotch with sensationalistic , white , and silver , and there ’s a park with solidified magma rocks shape a act like freak .
Say hi to Pluto (aka Hades).|easy camera/Shutterstock
Babysit sea turtles on black sand in Linosa
Linosa is so far down to the south that it ’s closer to the shores of Tunisia than those of Sicily . This tiny , volcanic , jet - inglorious island has just one fishermen ’s settlement made of brightly colored dwellings covered in blood-red bougainvillea flowers . You wo n’t find any baby - gunpowder beaches here : instead , there are rocky shore and underwater scenery that ’s all contraband but so translucent you wo n’t even need goggles to look up to the ocean floor .
On La Pozzolana Beach , ocean turtles total to lie their testis under starry sky . If you require to get up tight to the action , you may offer at the local marine ER , where wounded loggerhead turtles are treated . Once they ’re healed up and released back into the sea , visitor can plunk into the water to beckon them a proper goodbye . Just do n’t be surprised if you see a phratry of hammerhead shark swim by in the aloofness .
The little harbour is the only buzzing societal scene on the island , and you ’re bind to see villager meeting up for coffee slushies , framed by the capers and fig tree diagram that sprout out of the brick walls that line the streets . Be prepared to stretch your muscles hiking to the grassy , nonextant volcanic crater .
Sands of all different colors on Linosa.|Education Images / Contributor / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
Gorgeous Small Towns in Italy to Avoid the Crowds
All roads lead away from Rome.
Sleep in a sea cave in Palmarola
This gem of the Pontine Archipelago is a actual atavist to the primeval age . Forget roads , bars , Wi - Fi , or electricity and prepare for a detox break . The isle is totally uninhabited except for a cozy beach tavern calledO’Francese . Open just during summer , the restaurant owner lease out “ rooms ” in the grottos prune into the furrowed , white - paint cliffs , where you may spend the dark .
Inside the caves , you ’ll also find very rudimentary bathrooms . It ’s an experience to sleep in raw surroundings , where older fisher once adopt refuge during storms or , it ’s said , from ocean teras and ghosts .
At aurora , the owners take guests to Tramontana Hill to check the blaze sunrise . Beach dinners are made with fish fresh from the profits and fennel liqueur . All you need here is a dinghy to zig - zag between sea stacks , regal sponge sea grot , and natural rock’n’roll arches that almost look quick to crumble .
Suntan naked in quarries in Favignana
In one sea grotto on Favignana , myth has it that the beautiful houri Calypso seduced wandering Greek hero Odysseus on his return home from the Trojan War . Today , locals have a habit of suntanning naked behind the huge Stone of former quarries , which have been turn into profuse garden covered in slurred botany .
If you ’re look to get strand here for a few years yourself , the best direction to search the butterfly - shaped islet is either by wheel orfishermen - direct boat toursthat take you to sunbathe in blot out inlets with fluorescent - blue waves . The most spectacular of all such beach is Cala Rossa .
Favignana also used to host a tuna factory that ’s now been turn into a museum , and restaurants serve Anguilla sucklandii fineness of all kinds .
Those caves along the bottom? That’s where you sleep.|Matteo_Ciani/Shutterstock
Dreamy Underrated Towns to Hit on the Italian Riviera
For a true taste of life on the Italian Riviera, head beyond Cinque Terre.
Explore ghostly sea grotto parties in Levanzo
The juxtaposition of dazzle whitewashed fisher ’s habitation with the turquoise blue of the shimmer sea is only one good reason to visit Levanzo . The other , main sweetener is the maze of sea grottos you’re able to explore on a point boat tour with a savvy fisherman guide who delight spinning narrative .
The Genoese Grotto , which was first inhabit by prehistorical hoi polloi , just might be the most fascinating . Today , you could still see wall drawings and symbols that say the story of the inception of the universe . Nearby , the so - called Flintstone Village is a former seaside flower child retirement where nudists last in the 1960 ’s in straw army hut and caves , and partied in ocean grottos .
After you ’re done rally a rowboat around to the unlike cave and snorkeling along the shoring , try walking to different inlets and pebble beach , and then indulge in grill giant octopus served on a lava rock home plate .
Old factories that look like Roman palaces on Favignana.|Maurizio De Mattei/Shutterstock
Visit a former prison fortress in Santo Stefano
Santo Stefano was once used as a former prison house in the time of ancient Rome and afterward for anti - fascists , but the island has since been reclaimed by nature . Now , its waters are a snorkeling and scuba diving mecca brimming with baby barracuda and gargantuan grouper . Though there ’s still a horseshoe - determine fort at the top of a J. J. Hill , a hobo camp of thenar and fig tree diagram has grown over the prison cells .
Just off the coast between Rome and Naples , the little atoll can be reach via gravy holder from the nearby sister isle of Ventotene , where scuba dive tours regularly take off .
The Most Beautiful Place in Every European Country
We’re bringing the best of Europe to you.
Jog up the ‘killer climb’ in San Domino
The thick pinewood and black gloomy waters of San Domino send out a siren call to adventurer . This main island of the Tremiti Archipelago is not a place for everyone , since you postulate to climb one long , outrageous road from where ferry gravy boat land to the sign , hotel , and main piazza above . Some super - fit locals who jog up and down the steps have nickname it the “ sea wolf climb . ”
Muscular thighs are also needed to accomplish the many solitary pebble intake and cliffs that are fantastic for snorkel diving . It ’s safe to say this is n’t really the post for sun flagellation unless you’re able to cling to the granite rocks like a crab . In other words , not really a finish for flip - flops .
Swim with and then eat dwarf shrimp ceviche in Ustica
Ustica is shrimp heaven both for trencherman and scuba divers . The specialty mantrap here is made of stark naked nanus shrimp served with lemon succus , while the greatest nose dive is inside the so - predict “ shrimp underwater cave , ” where you get to stare into the flashlight - like eyes of shrimps staring back at you .
Head to the fisher ’s village for a level of cottage plug into by steep stairway — which stand for it ’s best to throng Light Within . Forget clubbing here : in the evenings , the greatest thrill on Ustica is meeting in the tiny plaza for a gelato . You could check out Deadman ’s Cliff or manoeuver somewhere less spooky , like the cragged , fluorescent - immature countryside constellate with plantation , lonely farmer dwellings , and old domestic ass trails .
Who wouldn’t get naked here?|Marcin Krzyzak/Shutterstock
Santo Stefano’s ancient Roman fortress.|Stefano Batistini/Shutterstock
San Domino is the workout island.|maudanros/Shutterstock
Swimming parties instead of dance ragers on Ustica.|Gandolfo Cannatella/Shutterstock
