what to see

archeology

Located in the middle of the Strait of Sicily, Pantelleria has always been a landing place and a conquered country for many peoples, since prehistory: its land shows the signs and evidences of those passages which had marked centuries and transformations. Prepare yourself for a journey through history, thanks to the many sites and archaeological findings that tell, stone by stone, object after object, then life on the island for thousands of years up to now.



The first records date back to the Bronze Age, and the evidence are with the Village of Murcia, between the village of Pantelleria and Scauri, and theNecropolis of Sesi , funeral stone building (sese in pantesco means stone), similar to the Sardinian nuraghi.



From the mysterious disappearance of Sesioti, our journey continues through the centuries, until the Punic, Hellenistic and Roman era on the banks of the Venus' mirror , where you can admire the remains of a Sanctuary presumably dedicated to the fertility of the water and so to the Punic goddess Tanit, which is the Latin Venus.



to the same period it belongs the Acropolis distributed on the hills of San Marco and Santa Teresa , an important evidence of what was the ancient Cossyra, which has also a remarkable system of cisterns, within which the famous portraits of Giulio Cesare , Antonia Minore and of the EmperorTito were recovered: three marble almost intact finds , whose beauty is admired today in museums all around the world and often returns to Pantelleria.



Then we are in the fifth century AD, in the village of Scauri, testimony of the intense activity of pottery, and on the Byzantine grave in Zighid district and at Giubbiuna, in the area of Piana della Ghirlanda, a place full of magic and extremely quiet, which provides a direct contact with nature, its colors and sounds.



And with a leap forward, the thirteenth century brings us toBarbacane castle located in Pantelleria village. It is majestic and imposing, it is built entirely of lava rock and supervises severe the Strait of Sicily.



Then treat yourself to a real dive into history, with a scuba diving of underwater archeology: amphorae, anchors, artifacts and remains of wrecks talk about shipwrecks and battles at sea and can be admired both in Scauri that Cala Gadir. However, along the entire perimeter 
the island there are other seabed where you can admire, among a seagrass and the other, the millenary signs of a distant past.

the sea - dive into a dream

A holiday on an island can not talk about anything but sea and boundless horizons. Among sun, beautiful seabeds and crystalline waters, Pantelleria offers the matchless beautiful landscapes, many of these close to the dammusi of Abitare Pantelleria . The sound of waves and the blowing of wind invite you to reclaim the most authentic way to live the sea, among easily accessible locations and places just waiting to be discovered by boat or after a walk through charming landscapes.


A sea of a thousand faces and facets, like the reflection of sunlight on the water: Costs whose rocky and volcanic nature forms small steep promontories, or smooth and flat rocks where to lie comfortably, or pebble beaches; seabed and bays that are hidden at first glance to offer themselves in all their glory from the boat; caves, like chests full of treasures, invite you to discover the most mysterious and evocative side of the sea. In the gentle summer breeze, there are an infinite number of spots where carve out your own space and savor the slow passage of days made of salt, swims and blinding sun.



Be caught up by the turquoise of the Scarpetta of Cenerentola , the majesty of the Elephant Arch , of the Faraglione and the cliff of Balata dei Turchi. Have a bath of well-being among the natural pools of Cala Gadir , in the thermal waters of the Cave of Sataria or in the unique landscape of Punta Nika .



there are hidden corners of paradise also at Cala Cottone , where a path in the maquis will lead you to a crystal-clear sea; let then fill your eyes from the colors of Cala Tramontana and Cala Levante or from the wild coasts of the south of the island, where Martingana and Punta Limarsi await for you with their unpolluted seabeds. A sea whose deep blue you will see merging with the black of volcanic rock s at Murcia and Suvaki , admiring the sunset on the coast of Africa.



What Pantelleria offers to those who arrives at is a sea that knows no limit of shades between blue, turquoise, emerald, azure, an element that brings to a real return to origins, as it happens in dammusi of Abitare Pantelleria, and to the most profoundly authentic way of living in contact with nature and its rhythms.

the thermae - plunge into relax

Not only swimming and snorkeling: a holiday in a dammuso of Abitare Pantelleria also means a starting point to a dive in the well-being and relaxation in natural thermal pools, in a setting rich of charm and beauty. The indissoluble union between land and sea of Pantelleria comes about in fact, once again, in the richness of springs and thermal waters , a clear sign of the island volcanic nature.



The most famous and evocative is the Mirror of Venus , precious gem with blue-green shades surrounded by rich Mediterranean vegetation, where the water flows at high temperature and creates a clay to be used for actual peeling.



Equally known and located on the north-east coast there is the natural pools of Cala Gadir , where you can admire a splendid landscape of natural terraces; on the opposite side of Pantelleria, the Nika Cave (from Arabs Water Pond ), with healing waters that flow at 40 °C. A few kilometers away, the charming cave Sataria , mythological place of love between Ulysses and Calypso, where there are few tanks of spring water, curative for arthritis and rheumatism.



Nature has also given some saunas to Pantelleria people : cave Benikulà and Kahzen stoves. Accessible only by an old mule track, this place retains an archaic and mysterious character: inside real lava stone seats invite you to sit down, to reinvigorate thanks to the subterranean vapors, admiring the green of the plain of Monastero and the boundless blue of the Mediterranean sea.



Finally, The Cave of the cold (in pantesco dialect U pirtusu du nutaru , the notary's hole) in the district Bukkuram : a fault line traveled by air gusts, which for a particular thermal phenomenon become colder and colder when the air outside is hot. A delightful sheltert during the hot days of sirocco, a natural relief similar to the one offered by the architecture of dammusi.

natural reserve - with an eye to the inland: montagna grande

The majestic shape of Montagna Grande accompany steadily the inhabitans of Pantelleria and offers to those who decide to reach the summit a breathtaking view over the island and the Mediterranean.



Declared a nature reserve, the area is an ideal destination for long walks, to discover the Mediterranean and evocative landscapes, where you can admire numerous endemic species of flora and observe a rich fauna and, in some cases, only . Many routes to choose , both for lovers of Trekking or mountain bike , or for fans of bird watching : any effort will be rewarded , at 836 meters high, from a 360-degree panorama that invites you to lose the look over the horizon, contemplating the grandeur of Nature.



An oasis of peace and tranquility to which you arrive from the district Siba , and then go on through trails and landscapes of infinite beauty, surrounded by silence and rosemary, oregano, fennel and wild mint scents. 
 Among holm-oaks, the smell of resin of pinaster and Aleppo pines, the pungent scent of heather and the bright yellow of the wild broom, one often encounters the island breath, Favare; you can find some ornithological and entomological species not easily seen on other sites which tell the particularity of Montagna Grande, place chosen for the stopping and transit in migration.



Rarity as the colorful skin of the horseshoe whip snake, living exclusively here and in Sardinia, or Greek Tortoise , locally called ”Tartuca” whose colony in Pantelleria is one of the few left wildly today, they are among the species that is worth looking for when hiking And yet, majestic buzzards, bee-eaters, the black kite, the kestrel, the many species of birds that migrate from Africa in spring, giving the views of colorful and large flocks to be admired in their flight to Europe.



The mycology enthusiasts can test themselves against the search for many species of fungi, such as Lactarius deliciosus, the Baletus granulatus, Praterella campestre and Lactarius sanguifluus, more known by the islanders in dialect as funcia raviulonza , funcia vavusa , shin funcia and funcia stagnasango .



An incredible variety of landscapes which makes the holidays in Pantelleria an experience not only along the coast but also looking towards the hinterland, discovering incredible natural and pristinepure beauty.

volcanoes

The volcanic origin of Pantelleria comes in all forms possible, both on land and at sea. Between hills and mountains - the Cuddie - the landscape tells an intense activity, now over more than a century ago (in 1891), but in which secondary phenomena give still rise to some fascinating and unusual events.



And it is how a holiday at sea turns into an experience that has nothing to envy to that in a health club: lots of places where you can dive into real thermal tanks with warm, beneficial and healing waters, from Cala Gadir to the Sataria Caves, Nika and Scauri up to the mirror of Venus . And yet, the Buvire (from Arabic Buir i.e. source), brackish water sources that reach up to 70 ° C and of which there are examples in Cala Cottone and Cala Tramontana, and dry toilets with natural saunas Benikulà and stoves of Khazen , a Phoenician building heated by the underground steam channeled in a special underground room.



The island is alive, breathes, and let itself be admired through the red rocks surrounding the charming Favare , gaseous and water emissions giving life to a curious and fascinating landscape, with steam jets spilling out from rock cracks and reaching even 100 ° C. A breath that Pantelleria people are able to turn in water and fertility, collecting the precious drops of condensation which are formed by the steam in contact with colder air, and which merge in a system of tanks dug in rock, useful for watering the animals to pasture.



Temple of Pantelleria volcanism is the Volcanological Museum : three rooms where about 50 samples of representative rocks of the Island , numerous explanatory panels on the volcanological history and all information on some sites, as well as some routes for the most curious and passionate are displayed.



Fire, earth, air, water: Pantelleria is actually a dimension in which the four natural elements - from landscapes, to traditions up to the houses - gather and come together in perfect harmony.