For years I had heard about the island of Pantelleria, a rocky, hard-to-access Edenic paradise 89 miles southwest of Sicily and about 50 miles east of Tunisia, with its secluded and tranquil location, as seen in Luca Guadagnino’s 2015 film “a Bigger Splash” depicted an enchanting rural landscape with mud baths, romantic ruins and secluded swimming beaches. Celebrities like Madonna, Sting and Julia Roberts visited, drawn by the town’s striking African-Italian atmosphere, including Giorgio Armani, who has lived there part-time since 1980. The fact that no one was impressed by them added to the allure.
“We always tell newcomers that you’ll either love it or hate it,” says Ciassia Gambaccini, a fashion stylist who has owned a vacation home on the island for 33 years. “This is not Capri. There’s no Chanel. There are no luxury resort hotels. There’s always wind. The beauty is in the slow pace and the rugged landscape.”
The lack of white-sand beaches is treated like a badge of honor: locals haul their gear over the jagged lava rocks that line the shore and plunge into the turquoise waters, and Pantelleria Town’s old-fashioned pasticcerias and dingy olive stalls give it a “Godfather”-like charm.
And the wind is, well, part of the package: as the locals will say, nature rules here and when the sirocco blows, you have no choice but to go with the flow.
Fragrant, otherworldly scenery
Thousands of years ago, farmers on the rocky, windswept, and waterless island of Pantelleria developed ways to grow crops.
They built terraced walls out of porous lava to keep out the wind and allow dew to hydrate their fruits and vegetables. These steep terraces undulate across the island, giving the lava cliffs a pristine texture. Lava rock dwellings called damshi can be found everywhere, creating an otherworldly landscape.
Pantelleria’s topography changes dramatically as you travel across the 32-square-mile island. Driving along narrow highways and unpaved side roads, the scenery changes from lush caldera-fed valleys to barren plateaus teeming with Mediterranean scrub, to hilltop villages drenched in pink bougainvillea, to forested mountains. Flowering cacti, purple-stamen caper bushes and herbs thrive, and the wind carries the scent of wild oregano.
Reminders of Pantelleria’s ancient roots are everywhere.
In Murcia, the bar Sessiventi We look out over Bronze Age burial sites; in Nika we remember the Romans as we dive into bubbling hot springs carved into the rock; the town of Pantelleria is dominated by a castle begun in Byzantine times, added on by the Normans, and a bell tower built later by the Romans. Spanish.
Panthescan atmosphere
The island is not easily accessible. Danish Airlines Data Spanish airline Volotea And Italy it is There are flights from within Italy, but only on certain days, and after high season, from the end of May to the end of September, it gets more difficult to get there, with only single flights or overnight ferries from Trapani on the mainland of Sicily (Pantelleria is part of the Sicily region).
Arriving by plane from Palermo last June, after the shock of landing on a volcanic pebble floating in the sea, I felt the temptation to laze away. It was hot, and the wind and the chirps of cicadas were like an island lullaby. I arrived in the late afternoon, just in time for Pantelleria’s signature aperitivo, when people climb onto roofs, sit on pillows and watch the sun sink into the sea. I experienced this tranquil rooftop scene, or anti-scene, in various restaurants, hotels and homes throughout my week on the island.
Noticeably, there was no loud music. Nature was the main event, and it was treated with respect. Tesla? Mercedes? Land Rover? No way. Everyone drives beat-up cars, with the Fiat Panda being the most popular. When my friend picked me up in this toy-like vehicle, I understood why. Its small size and light weight make it easy to squeeze into tight parking spaces and get passed by oncoming traffic on single-lane roads, a maneuver that often requires pulling into bushes or against narrow cliffs.
You may not get a day at the beach, but you can certainly get a day swimming in a lava outcrop. Barata dei Turchi It was my favorite because it was an adventure just to get to this bay. Under We scaled about 800 feet of lava cliffs. We drove my friend’s old Panda up a steep, unpaved slope, bouncing around on rocks as dust fogged the windshield. We parked and walked about 10 minutes down the rock face. We laid towels on the black rocks and dove into the ocean. Thick ropes attached to the rocks helped swimmers pull us up.
One day, the swim came as a surprise, after a wine-heavy lunch. La Bella In the port of Scauri, I shed my clothes (I learned to stash my swimsuit in a tote bag) and waded through sea urchins into crystal-clear water. All around me, sunbathers were reading (real books) and kids were snorkeling and playing (real) games. It was like 1985 again.
Boat tours offer the best views of the island, but windy conditions made scheduling one difficult. Finally, the gusts subsided and I, along with a lithe captain in a speed suit, set off to explore the lava caves that are only accessible by sea. We sailed to the Grotta delle Sirene, SatariaWe approached the sponge-covered cave where, according to legend, Odysseus was enchanted by the sea nymph Calypso. Elephante GateA lava arch shaped like an elephant drinking water. We then stopped in front of a cave. Punta Spadillo We had a panini lunch and then dove into the waters, which were teeming with blue-green parrotfish. There was only one other boat out when we arrived.
Wine and Capelli
Anyone who knows Pantelleria would probably mention its most famous exports: passito (a sweet wine made from Zibibbo grapes) and capers. Producing wine on an island that is dry and has no fresh water is no easy feat. The vines were trained to grow horizontally to avoid the wind. To self-irrigate, the vines were planted in hollows so that dew could drip onto the roots at night. This centuries-old practice has been recognised by UNESCO as an “intangible cultural heritage”.
All of the island’s 22 winemakers produce their own amber-hued passito, and each one waxes poetic about how the harsh conditions create this “vino de’ mediazione,” a meditative wine to be sipped slowly after dinner. “When you drink it, you can feel the people and the place behind the flavor,” says fifth-generation co-owner Antonio Lalo. Vineyards of Donnafugata and the President Sicily DOC Wine Society. “It could never be made anywhere else on the island.”
Sun, wind and mineral-rich volcanic soil are also the secret of Pantelleria’s capers, whose extraordinary sweetness is highly valued in the gastronomic world. Most vineyards grow both grapes and capers, so wine tastings also include dishes that highlight the flavors of both.
Emanuela BonomoA rare female winemaker in the region, she explained how the wind creates rich flavors of lava minerality and salt in both her produce and her small-batch wines. At the vineyard, she served fried zucchini, caponata and cheeses garnished with mint and oregano. It’s topped with zibibbo raisins, fig jam, and a big lemon sliced and drizzled in oil. All layered with aromatic capers. Bonomo wanted to make sure I understood that it was all “fatto a mano.” She and the other farmers still harvest by hand.
At Lalo’s vineyard, guests can walk past centuries-old olive trees and gardens, through stone walls that act as a natural amphitheater, and into the gnarled, low-ground vines and caper bushes. There are multiple tasting options, but the most exciting is a dinner under the stars, where wines are paired with traditional Pantesca cuisine.
Wellness, Volcano Style
As well as inspiring the rugged landscape, geothermal activity has made the island a spa playground, with hot springs and natural saunas. Near Armani’s property in the fishing village of Ghadir, there’s a small marina complete with bathtubs carved into the rocks. I follow the locals and take a slightly slushy dip (the water temperatures range from 104° to 131° Fahrenheit). Bath for about six minutes, then cool off in the adjacent harbor. Don’t mind the egg smell – its high sulfur and mineral content will help soothe your pain.
On boat day I swam to Sataria Cave. There are three algae-filled hot springs, with water temperatures ranging from lukewarm to medium. This is the island’s largest hot spring. Specchio di Venere Venus’ Mirror is an aquamarine lake in a volcanic crater surrounded by mountains and vineyards. It sits on 104-degree gurgling water., The mud is a therapeutic (and smelly) mud that bathers smear all over their bodies. Does it work? It soothes the itchy sweat rash on my arms and chest, and relieves my travel-stiffened back.
The hot springs were amazing, but what I was most excited about was detoxing in a natural stone sauna hidden away in a mountain cave. After a 10-minute climb up the western slope of Montaña Grande, I knew I had arrived. Benicula Caveor Bagnoa shoot, We saw steam coming out of a cleft in the rocks, followed by an older man in a very sexy Speedo. Inside, nine of us were sitting on the hot stones and ground (bring towels!) schvitzing in the steam that reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Afterwards, we all relaxed on benches in the shade, Piana di Monastero valley.
Thanks to its volcanic cliffs and lush valleys, there are fantastic hiking trails to counterbalance the influence of pasta and wine, and 80% of the island is national park. Pantelleria National Park, 63 miles path It crosses Mediterranean scrubland and reaches the forests of Monte Gibbere and Montagna Grande.
I expected to see the swarms of tourists I saw in Rome last month everywhere, but that didn’t happen. Dispenser Pantescaa popular spot for aperitivo. La Nicchia or The Prince and the PirateIt Restaurant. Alevorteis a fashion boutique stocking the silk caftans and crisply tailored linen trousers that travelers dream of acquiring on their trip to Italy.
if SicilyIf the chic 20-room hotel I stayed at was in Amalfi, well-dressed guests would be vying for selfies in the fiery sunset. Not here. “The island is magical, but it’s not for everyone,” says hotel owner Giulia Pazienza Gelmetti. “It’s hard to get here, hard to get to the sea. It attracts a certain type of person, and for those who get it, the rewards are great.”
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