Boat International - July 2018

http://www.boatinternational.com | July 2018

Voyage

PHOTOGRAPHY: ADOBE STOCK; 4 CORNERS IMAGES; ALAMY

Tremiti Islands

BEST FOR VIBRANT MARINE LIFE:

Location: Three pearls en route to Croatia

T

he three bitesize Tremiti

Islands sit quietly in the

Adriatic and are home to more

wreck dives than any other Italian

archipelago. The Tremiti dives include

an Ottoman galley, one of Garibaldi ’s

transport ships and a sunken statue

of Italian saint Padre Pio in 10 metres

of crystalline sea. The entire

archipelago was declared a marine

reserve nearly 30 years ago and fishing

is banned. As a result, its topaz waters

are stocked with seahorses, snapper, octopus, lobster,

cuttlefish and grouper.

In the 1930s, Benito Mussolini utilised the islands

asapenalcolony.“Thefascistregimeexiledthose

itthoughttobegay,lesbianortrans enderri hts

activists,”explainsCamper&

Nicholsons’ sa les broker Marco

Fodale.“In1938menbelievedto

be homosexuals were consigned

tothemainislandofSan

Domino.” However,

Mussolini

unwittingly created

theonlyplacein

Ita ly where it was

permissible to

be openly gay. Labour on the island that

measureslessthanasquaremilewastough.

But the localcucina tremitesicuisine, which

hasrevolvedaroundlobster,lemons,olives,

figsandsnailssincetheBronzeAge,eased

their existence.

Aswellastheabundantmarinelife,

SanDomino’sjaggedcoastisscatteredwithpicturesquegrottos,

such as Grotta delle Rondinelle and Grotta del Bue Marino.

Visitors should also head to the fortified Abbey of Santa Maria

onSanNicola.FoundedbytheBenedictinesin1045,itstillhasits

elaboratemosaicfloorandcloisters.

The entire

archipelago was

declared a marine

reserve nearly

30 years ago and

ishing is banned

The Tremiti islands

lie35kmfromthe

“spur” of Italy, the

Gargano peninsula

The tiny island of

San Nicola is dominated

by the fortified Abbey

of Santa Maria

Best by boat:Fodale warns that San Domino’s 10km

coastline has no moorings, only bucolic anchorages. As such

he recommends a yacht with zero-speed stabilisers and dive

platformstogetthemostoutofvisitingtheislands.