Area Marina Protetta Isole Tremiti

The history: between myth and reality

Emerald green water, dazzling white stacks, green maquis on the rocks, bays with thin sand, crystal-clear sea bottoms, opalescent caves, impregnable fortresses, yells of seagulls and flight of Diomedea species. The Isole Tremiti are five pearls on the Adriatic Sea, a strongbox of biodiversity and nature beauty that make them one of the most evocative paradises in the Mare Nostrum. According to the legend, after Diomedes' death, his mourning companions were turned into marine birds called "diomedae", that still mourn their leader. In the reality, these birds are represented by a large colony of Calonectris diomedea (Scopoli's shearwater), whose cry during their mating season resembles the crying of a newborn. 

Further information (Italian text)

The Nature: the marine environment, the flora and the fauna

The Isole Tremiti Archipelago lies about 12 miles north of the Gargano promontory. It is made up of three big islands: S. Domino, S. Nicola and Caprara, of a small island called Cretaccio and a smaller island called Pianosa, situated about 12 miles northeast far from the first three islands and more than 30 miles far from Gargano's coast.
The archipelago is an example of rare beauty, both for the wild nature of its depths, for the landscape and for the historical-architectural elements of its biggest islands: S. Domino and S. Nicola.
The Isole Tremiti Marine Protected Area was established in 1989 with Decree of the 14th July 1989 in order to safeguard this incomparable heritage. The management of the Marine Nature Reserve has been entrusted since 1995 to the Gargano National Park Authority. 

Further informaation (Italian text)

The islands

The Isole Tremiti are the only Italian islands in the Adriatic Sea, therefore they are known as the "pearls of the Adriatic Sea". The archipelago is a real natural paradise, both for the wild nature of its depths and for the landscape and historical-architectural elements of its islands: crystal-clear water, white cliffs, breathtaking sea bottoms, colorful caves, impregnable strongholds, seagulls' calls and Diomedeae songs keeping on telling the facts of heroes, abbots, princes, monks and deportees who passed in these islands and wrote their history.