90 Italian resorts have deserved the Blue Flag. Among many awarded beaches, a pleasant surprise comes from the Lazio coast which has also reached excellent appreciation levels. Nearby Sperlonga, Sabaudia, San Felice Circeo and Gaeta, we have found as a new entry Anzio. But “the palm of the best waters” goes to Ponza, Ventotene, Santo Stefano, Zannone and Palmarola, like the splendid coasts of southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and the most famous shores of Liguria and Tuscany.
Pontine Islands
There seems to be be a really a persistent cuttent around the archipelago pontino,it makes the water the distinguishly clear. Romans started to exploit the resources on 313 b.C after they were discovered by the Volsci and Greek. That obsidian vein on the Palmarola rocks could not be unnoticed by the primitive man of Circeo who was used more than seven thousand years ago to produce weapons.
Ponza is the most generous in terms of ospitality It has three landing points. People can anchor in the bay of the harbour or in Chiaia di Luna or when there is good weather,further North,on the western coast,in the two Cays the one of Feola and the Cala dell’Acqua, both with a little pear.If someone wants to have quiet sleep in Ponza,it’s better to go there out of high season,when it’s possible to find a place in the quay.
Waking up in Chiara di Luna is a memorable experience,thanks to its natural show of its yellow tuff amphiteatre that is the base for a splendid white sandy beach.
Palmarola takes the name from the dwarf palms once present. On the island there are two seasonal resteraunts one in front of the other. Cala del Porto is the right place where to drop the anchor. Cala Brigantina is made by white pumice,in the shadow of the magnificent shape of the Faraglione
Zanone has a very flourishing vegetarian,it has three points of landing,two in the North and one in the South side. The sea offer good moorings.
Ventotene it is necessary to know its history in order to appreciate its atmosphere.Mooring in the port,excavated by the Romans in the tuff rock,gives particular sensation The new harbor Cala Rossano,is much more accessible,the winds produce a strong shell therefore it is better to moor to the new floating wharfs inside the harbour. Going out of the harbour toward the South,there is Cala Nave, surrounded by high high cliffs.
If you come from the North to Calata Parata Grande it’s better to pass far from Sconcigli and to keep away from all the shallow water around the sea.
Santo Stefano site of the old jail,has two landings,one toward Ventotene and the other at opposite site. The first one is handler,thanks to the shallower waters which allow to stop comfortably even for the night or for the usual visit to the structures of the old jail.
It was the Romans to give the archipelago of Campania that holiday atmosphere of which has proudy reached us. The coast of Campania are the best places for a nautical holiday.Sometime traffic is intense,but cautiously choosing the period,one will be able to enjoy the most beautiful sities of the world.
Procida maybe the less known,for nautical tourismbut certainly not to be underestimated. It is separated by Miseno Capo by the homonymous canal.Everything made of yellow tuff,strewed with Orange trees and vineyards,Procida has kept intact the glamour of the seafaring villages.
Ischia is the biggest of the islands of the gulf and offers many remarkably interesting insights.Colonized in ancient roman times,it was upset in the III century b.C. by a volcanic eruption.The mouth of the volcano turned into a salt lake The harbour of Ischia is the safest possible. There are almost 200 boat places and it can be lodge boats up to 30 meters of length.
The services are efficient, not to be least, a purifying treatment in one of the 65 very famous thermal baths with hot water,last memory of the volcanic activity of the place.
Capri the true pearl of the gulf. Everybody knows this splendid island.Emperor August,returning from Egypt fell in love with Capri,buying it and making it his favourite residence.Then Tiberio made it famous,giving in that resort mark of Transgressive complicity,which the island has never lost.
The harbour is consitued by a Inner harbour protected by two piers and divided in three zones,the commercial one,the tourist one and the internal harbour.It can lodge,in the part reserved for tourism,350 boats From Marina Grande, turning in anticlockwise sense,the zone of the Blue Grotto
is soon reached,easily recognizable from the traffic of lances.
Sicily is definitely the destination for people who love the sun,the colours and strong tastes.
It is wonderful also in the middle seasons, when the choice of boats and the places is more varied.
Sicily is situated at the same latitude of Tunisia, its coasts are extremely attractive in any season. Sicily is placed at center of Mediterranean sea, like a gateway between the east and the west.
Sicily has been a natural land of conquest for all the people that have sailed on the sea.
Salina the greenest of the Aeolian Islands,it is famous for its caper plants and its malvasia vineyards,it dominates the archipelago with a mountainous zone composed by two ancient volcanos: Monte Fossa delle Felci (960 mt.) and Monte Porri (860 mt).
Lipari is the most extensive of the Aeolian Islands,it is regognizable from far away the sea,for the massive presence of the Chirica Mountain (602 mt.) and S.Angelo Mountain
Pignataro harbour is developed towards North of Marina Corta ending with Scaliddi. It is composed of various quays and one 65 metre dock that assures about 50 boat places with a good shelter.
Lipari is separated by Vulcano and his Faraglioni by a 800 meter canal. The island is divided in three sides: Flat Volcano at 400 meters of height, characterized by a rich broom vagetation, Volcano harbour, where the ships moor and which is formed by a crater from the last verified eruption on 1888 and 1890. At last Vulcanello, risen from waters in 183 b.C. which turned into the isthmus which binds it to the island,that originates the two greater inlets.
Panarea, certainly the most known for its night life and the social life, has an elliptical form it and is constituted by a high ridge whose highest top is Pizzo del Corvo (422 mt.) surmounted by a cross.
The principal landing of the island is placed at the centre of the eastern coast,near Peppemaria Cape and San Pietro.
Stromboli from the three eruptive mouths of the perennially active volcano and 926 meters high,has incandescent boulders and burning lapillus which light up the night and noisly roll toward the sea along the Sciara of Fire,a unique show
Website of interests
www.enit.it Italian tourism board
www.snav.it hydrofoil connections
www.1yachtua.com full nautical maps
www.meteo.it meteo
www.parks.it parks & marine protected areas
Main airports central/south Italy
www.adr.it/ Roma
www.gesac.it/ Napoli
www.sacal.it/ Lamezia Terme
www.sogas.it/ Reggio Calabria
www.aeroporto.catania.it/ Catania
www.gesap.it/ Palermo