What are the Pontine islands, what to see, history, physical characteristics of the area, the most beautiful beaches not to be missed and the best excursions to do.
What are the Pontine islands
Archipelago of the Tyrrhenian Sea, south of Circeo, the Pontine or Ponziane islands are divided into the north-west group, Ponza, Gavi, Zannone, Palmarola, and in the south-east group, Ventotene and Santo Stefano.
From an administrative point of view, they depend on the province of Latina, in Lazio.
The islands of Ponza, Palmarola, Zannone and Gavi are part of the municipality of Ponza.
The homonymous island and the islet of Santo Stefano belong to the municipality of Ventotene.
Ponza is the largest of the Ponziane islands, also called Pontine islands, it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Gulf of Gaeta.
It is part of the province of Latina, in Lazio.
The island of volcanic origin is mainly mountainous, reaches its maximum altitude in the south with Mount Guardia, 280 m. s.l.m.
The coasts are mostly high, very steep and jagged, a succession of coves and inlets, underwater caves and rocks, which make diving very interesting.
The stacks and the cliff of Lucia Rosa are famous, which take their name from a fact that really happened in the late 1800s.
A girl named Lucia Rosa threw herself from the top of the cliff because hindered by her family in her desire to marry a local boy.
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Through a walking path, you can reach the beautiful beach of Cala Feola, with its natural swimming pools, two deep enclosed bays, accessible from the sea through a very narrow passage.
Another very suggestive cove is Cala Fonte, easily reachable by land, protected by a rocky promontory where the fishermen dug tanks, used to keep the catch alive and to deposit the boats and fishing tools.
Along the east coast is Cala Inferno, a wall eroded by the sea, wind and telluric movements, where there are the remains of an arduous staircase that descended from the town of Forna to the sea, at the base there are still visible entrances to the tunnels of the Roman aqueduct which crossed the island and continued up to S. Maria.
Chiaia di Luna is a very popular beach, a strip of sand protected behind a cliff, unfortunately the beach is often closed to the public due to the instability of the rock.
The island was inhabited since the Bronze Age and the Neolithic Age.
The Phoenicians were the first to create a freight yard, the Greeks began the construction of the first aqueducts, subsequently completed by the Romans.
The island was conquered by the Volsci, an ancient Italic people, the polygonal walls of the Madonna hill date back to them.
During the Roman period, the island initially had a military vocation, later it became a golden confinement for famous people of the time, villas and extraordinary hydraulic works were built.
With the advent of Christianity and the persecution of Christians, the island became a place of exile and forced relegation for some of them.
After the fall of the Roman Empire followed the invations of the Barbarians and the raids of the Saracens.
The island was home to Benedictine and Cistercian monastic settlements, was an important religious center and periods of tranquility and rebirth alternated with periods in which the undisputed attacks of pirates prevailed.
In 1454 Alfonso of Aragon expelled the monks from the island.
In 1477 Pope Sixtus IV granted the Pontine islands in perpetual lease three Neapolitan nobles, who ceded their rights in 1484.
In 1542 the island was granted in fiefdom to Pier Luigi Farnese, with the task of defending it from attacks by pirates, who continued to cause massacres and destruction on the island.
In 1734, Elizabeth Farnese gave the Pontine islands to his son Charles III of Bourbon, King of Naples, who became the private property of the crown islands.
A policy was launched for the repopulation and defense of the island.
In 1768, important public works were started with King Ferdinand IV of Naples in order also to affirm the sovereignty of the king of Naples against the claims of the Papal States.
In 1813 the island was occupied by the British, until 1815 when the Treaty of Vienna returned the islands to the Bourbons, finally in 1861 the islands were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.
In the fascist period, the island became a borderland for people opposed to the regime that was in power.
What see
At about 12 km. west of Ponza is Palmarola, an islet of volcanic rocks surrounded by transparent and deep waters.
The island, a natural reserve, is an enchanting place inhabited by a few people only in the summer.
Above a rock is the chapel dedicated to the patron saint of the municipality of Ponza, San Silverio.
Pope Silverio, exiled Palmarola where he died, is celebrated on June 20 of each year.
The islet of Zannone, the northernmost of the Pontine archipelago, is uninhabited and is part of the Circeo National Park.
Zannone differs from the other islands of the archipelago in that it is formed not only by volcanic rocks but also by limestone rocks, it is also covered by luxuriant holm oak woods and by the typical Mediterranean maquis, which make it an ideal stop for passing game and for fauna in general.
The highest point of Zannone is constituted by the top of Monte Pellegrino, with its 194 meters of altitude.
At 125 meters high there are the evocative remains of a Benedictine monastery with an adjoining small museum and the Custody House.
Near the island of Ponza, separated by a channel of about 120 meters, there is the islet of Gavi, almost entirely uninhabited, with a single house, the highest point corresponds to 101 meters above sea level.
Of volcanic origin, Gavi has a rocky and jagged coast, with no beaches, in the past kaolin was extracted there, in the ancient quarry located on the north coast.
Ventotene and Santo Stefano are islands of volcanic origin, divided by a stretch of sea about a kilometer and a half wide.
The island of Ventotene is largely made up of tufaceous rock, while basalt rock formations prevail on the islet of Santo Stefano.
The islands are relatively barren, with a mainly low coverage, formed by the typical Mediterranean scrub.
The underwater landscape is very rich, thanks also to tunnels and cavities that open into the rocky walls.
These islands are part of a Marine Protected Natural Area, Ventotene is the smaller island, among the inhabited ones of the Ponzian archipelago.
Some finds found on the island testify to the presence of a human settlement dating back to the Bronze Age.
In Roman times Ventotene became a very welcoming place of confinement for some "uncomfortable" exponents of the imperial family.
Giulia, daughter of Augusto, Agrippina Maggiore, Ottavia, Flavia Domitilla, were exiled to Ventotene.
On the entire promontory of Punta Eolo are the remains of the large imperial villa, called Villa Giulia after the first inhabitant.
The central part of the villa overlooked the sea, while a slope overlooked the harbor.
The Roman port, entirely carved in the tuff is an extraordinary work of maritime engineering, as is the fish market located at the mouth of the port, a very ingenious system that allowed to catch fish attracted by the fresh water that was conveyed into a pool together with sea water.
Due to the lack of fresh water, a system of five cisterns for the collection of rainwater, operating by gravity, was built in Roman times, from the two major cisterns, the water went down to the three minor ones located lower.
Another period of growth and renewal for Ventotene was the Bourbon one.
From this period you can admire the buildings of eighteenth-century architecture that we encounter walking through the town, the castle, the Church of Santa Candida, patron saint of the island, and the penitentiary, which is located on the islet of Santo Stefano, closed since 1965 and famous for hosting famous people, including Sandro Pertini.
Guided tours are carried out in the penitentiary, enhanced for tourism and cultural purposes.
