Boat International - July 2018

(Jacob Rumans) #1
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.
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