Utente:Maria Pia Abatino/Sandbox

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The tremiti islands represent a tourist destination, especially from a maritime point of view, however, it is possible to admire within it numerous other typical features of the place, both historical and natural. Starting with the most interesting ones, we present the famous and beautiful Grotta del Bue Marino, which boasts more than 70 meters in length and 10 in width, up to 2/3 meters going more and more internally, and on its ceiling we find the oldest rocks of the islands that are dolomitic limestone of fossil origin. As you enter the cave, the light gradually decreases until it is totally devoid of light in the innermost part. The depth of the water reaches about 2 meters. Furthermore, the innermost part of the cave divides into two branches, one of which overlooks a small beach.

This cave can be admired in the southern part of the island of San Domino, which owes its name to the monk seal or to the sea lion (mammal almost totally extinct in the Mediterranean) but which until a few decades ago wallowed in the waters of the known Archipelago.

It is certainly one of the most evocative places to visit, considered the naturalistic wonder it offers to visitors, to whom it is suggested, in fact, to enjoy this show at the first light of the morning or at sunset, when the sunlight and the sun's rays reflect in the shallow waters of the cavity.

Another wonderful show is offered by the Pineta di San Domino, which rises 116 meters above sea level, consisting of a long path of Aleppo pines, as wild as it is bucolic and poetic, which reaches the coast thanks to two paths rocky; walking through the pine forest it is possible to arrive at the lighthouse of the island, now a former lighthouse, which seems to soon become a luxury tourist resort, which will offer future tourists a breathtaking view overlooking the enchanting archipelago.

From the historical and architectural point of view, one of the most important representations of art, it can be seen with the mammoth Abbey of Santa Maria a Mare, built, according to historical data, in the 9th century by the Benedictine monks of Montecassino, later renovated in 1045, until, following the invasion of Dalmatian corsairs, despite the fortress being surrounded by walls and fortifications, it was sacked in 1334, where the monks were killed.

According to mythology, the abbey was built by the hermit San Nicola, to whom, it seems, the Madonna appeared requesting him the construction of a sanctuary.

In any case, the abbey of San Nicola became a real fortress, which over the centuries has also suffered numerous other attacks and invasions, until, in 1700, King Ferdinand IV of Naples transformed it into a penal colony, making it also a theater of naval battles (in fact it is still possible to notice the presence of cannon holes). In the Fascist period it then began to 'host' political and homosexual prisoners.