Apulia · Foggia
Isole Tremiti
An Adriatic archipelago of five islands twenty-two kilometers off the Gargano, the only Italian commune scattered across an open-sea group.
Known for
BENEDICTINE ABBEY
Santa Maria a Mare on San Nicola, fortified abbey ruling the islands from the eleventh century, with mosaic floor and surviving abbey-castle walls.
MARINE RESERVE
Open-sea protected area inside the Parco Nazionale del Gargano, with limestone cliffs, sea caves, and some of the clearest water in the Italian Adriatic.
PLACE OF CONFINEMENT
Two thousand years as a prison: Libyan resisters in 1911, Pertini and the antifascist confinati in the 1920s, six hundred gay men deported in 1938.
When to visit
Best · May–Sep
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Assunzione di Maria, 15 August
Why come
The Tremiti Islands sit twenty-two kilometers off the Gargano in the Adriatic, the only inhabited Italian commune made of an open-sea archipelago. There are five islands: San Domino, San Nicola, Capraia, Cretaccio and Pianosa; only San Domino and San Nicola are inhabited, with 479 residents between them. Ancient sources called them the Insulae Diomedaee for the Greek hero said to be buried here.
From the eleventh century the Abbazia di Santa Maria a Mare on San Nicola ran the islands as a Benedictine fortified monastery, and the abbey church still stands on the high terrace above the harbor. The islands have served as a place of confinement for two thousand years: Libyan resisters in 1911, Sandro Pertini and the antifascist confinati in the 1920s, six hundred gay men deported here by Mussolini in 1938. The protected marine reserve is part of the Parco Nazionale del Gargano. The water around the cliffs is among the clearest on the Italian Adriatic.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Isole Tremiti’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Abbazia di Santa Maria a Mare
Eleventh-century Benedictine abbey on the high terrace of San Nicola, fortified through the medieval period, with mosaic floor and polyptych altarpiece.
Castello dei Badiali
Fortified circuit around the abbey on San Nicola, built by the Benedictines against pirate raids, with surviving walls and watchtowers.
San Domino
Largest and most forested island, with Aleppo pine woods, the only sand beach in the archipelago at Cala delle Arene, and the village above the harbor.
Grotte di San Domino
Sea caves carved into the limestone cliffs of San Domino, the Grotta del Bue Marino and the Grotta delle Viole the best-known, reached by boat.
Pianosa
Northernmost island of the group, uninhabited and accessible only with permit, the strictest zone of the marine protected area.
The slow-trip planner
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Living here
- Population 479
- Very remotei
- Pharmacy in town
- Regional capital Bari, 12 h 11 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 116 m
- Population: 479
- Surface area: 3.18 km²
On the map
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Isole Tremiti
Rodi Garganico
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A Gargano promontory town above the Adriatic, citrus capital of the peninsula, with DOP oranges and lemons grown since the Middle Ages.
Termoli
Province: Campobasso
Molise's only port, a walled promontory of fishermen's houses on the Adriatic with a Frederick II castle and the ferry pier for the Tremiti islands.
Vico del Gargano
Province: Foggia
A Gargano hill town at 445 meters with a Norman castle, a kiss alley, and DOP citrus groves stepping down to the Adriatic.
Peschici
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A Gargano cliff-top village above the Adriatic with a Norman castle of 1023, white houses spilling toward the sea and trabucchi on the headlands.
San Severo
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🟦 Bandiera Blu
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