Ustica (Sicily): what to see on the island


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What to see and what to do in Ustica, a one-day itinerary to discover the island, including the main places of interest of the marine natural reserve.


Tourist information

Located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 67 km north west of Palermo, the island of Ustica is of volcanic origin and corresponds to the emerged part of an underwater volcanic building.

For the particular underwater environment of the sea that surrounds it and for the archaeological wealth, Ustica has been declared a protected marine natural reserve.


The volcanic nature of Ustica is testified by the intense black lava rocks and the high and steep coasts, as well as by the territory developed in three large natural terraces.

In the center of the island rise the ancient volcanic cones of Monte Guardia dei Turchi (248 m.), Monte Costa del Fallo (234 m.) And in the north-eastern part, overlooking the sea, the promontory of Falconiera (175 m .).

Despite the name Ustica deriving from the Latin Ustum, which means burnt, the island of Ustica has a landscape made up of various plant species and cultivations of lentils, vines, olive trees, citrus fruits and prickly pears.


The island of Ustica was inhabited since the Paleolithic era, the various archaeological finds, found on earth and in the seabed, testify to the passage of the ancient peoples of the Mediterranean, including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians and Romans.

After the fall of the Roman Empire and a period of abandonment, Benedictine monks settled there in the sixth century but, due to the continuous pirate raids, they were forced to abandon the island.

In the second half of the 1700s, at the time of the Bourbons, two watchtowers were built, the fortifications, the cisterns and the houses that formed the first inhabited center in Cala Santa Maria and which served to welcome the families of colonists and fishermen from the islands Aeolian, as well as some craftsmen from Trapani and Palermo.


What see

The island of Ustica offers the opportunity to make pleasant excursions in nature.

Very interesting itineraries are the archaeological one of the Rocca della Falconiera and the panoramic one at Monte Guardia dei Turchi, the highest point of the island.

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It is possible to admire the characteristic coastal environment through the underwater surface paths to the Blue Grotto, to the Grotta Pastizza and to the Accademia, to the Green Grotto, to Cala Sidoti, to the Natural Pool of Punta Cavazzi, to the Grotta delle Barche, to Cala Madonna, the Carruggio, the Faraglioni and the Grotta dell'Oro.

Visit Ustica Island (March 2024)


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