Pantelleria island description and photos - Italy: Sicily island (Topic)

Pantelleria Island description and photos - Italy: Sicily Island. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Pantelleria.

Photo and description

Pantelleria is a small island in the province of Trapani and lies 100 km southwest of Sicily and 60 km east of Tunisia. The area of the island is only 83 sq. Km. Its highest peak - Monte Grande (836 meters) - has numerous fumaroles, which indicates the volcanic origin of the island. True, the only historically documented eruption took place in 1891 - it was underwater.

In the northwestern part of Pantelleria is the capital of the island with a population of only about 3 thousand people. The fortified city stands on the banks of the only harbor accessible, however, only to small ships. You can get here by ferry from Trapani or by plane.

According to archaeological excavations, people appeared on Pantelleria about 35 thousand years ago, and these were Iberian or Ligurian tribes. In the 2-1 millennium BC. Sesiots lived here, leaving behind buildings that are extremely similar to the Sardinian Nuraghes. Then for some time the island was uninhabited until it came under the rule of the Carthaginians, who considered it an important point on the approaches to Sicily. It happened around the 7th century BC. The Carthaginians built on the hills of San Marco and Santa Teresa, located 2 km south of the modern capital of the island, the Acropolis. It has preserved stone walls, cisterns and water reservoirs, several burials and the ruins of a temple in which terracotta figurines were found.

The Romans, who finally occupied Pantelleria in 217 BC, used the island as a place of exile for important officials and members of the imperial family. The Arabs replaced the Romans which in 700 AD, destroyed the entire population. It was they who gave the island its name, which means "Daughter of the Wind" - because of the strong winds blowing from the African coast. The Saracens were only able to expel Roger of Sicily - the decisive battle took place in 1123.

In relatively recent times - during the Second World War - Pantelleria hosted an Italian base for torpedo boats that took part in attacks on British convoys. In 1943, during the landing of the Allied troops in Sicily, Pantelleria was subjected to large-scale bombing from the air and from the sea, after which it was captured.

Today, the island, which is called the "black pearl of Sicily", is a very popular tourist destination. An ancient settlement can be seen on its western bank, enclosed by a rampart of obsidian blocks and measuring 7.5 meters in height and 10 meters in width. On the territory of the settlement were discovered the ruins of a hut with pottery, which are now kept in the Museum of Syracuse. In the southeastern part of Pantelleria, there are the aforementioned "ceci" - burials similar to the Nuragi of Sardinia, but smaller in size. They consist of round towers with burial chambers. The largest tower has a diameter of 18-20 meters, but most of the "ceci" is three times smaller. Pottery was also found there.

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Topic: Pantelleria island description and photos - Italy: Sicily island.