Discover Lampedusa

The sea is not always the same and Lampedusa’s sea is different. You can feel it in the eyes and in the words of who experiences it. Guests go back home with amazing pictures, of which friends and colleagues are amazed by, but they can’t help but notice: it’s not the same in person. Because there is no technology able to capture the beauty of these colors, smells and the transparency of waters on white depths reflecting a clear sky.

Our mission is that the world can see Lampedusa with its natural light.

La Rosa dei Venti

Discover Lampedusa

11km in its longest point and 3.5km in its largest, with a calcareous nature, Lampedusa belongs to the African continental platform. It is 120 nautical miles far away from Sicily and 60 from Tunisia

La Rosa dei Venti

The South coast

The South coast (facing towards Africa) perks bays with white sand, transparent waters and turquoise nuances. For this reason the “Tabacccara” bay is famous for its ‘Flying boats’. Not far away is the Rabbits’ Island, winner of the prize most beautiful beach in the world in 2013. It’s also winner of the prize for most beautiful beach in Europe and it has qualified among the most beautiful in the world consecutively since 2014.

La Rosa dei Venti

The North Coast

The North Coast instead, presents 100 meters cliffs overlooking the sea ending in little bays with white sand. Here, the nuances become bluette and the depths are rich with marine wildlife. For its jagged nature, it can only be reached by boat.

La Rosa dei Venti

The weather in Lampedusa

The weather is totally African, hot and dry but still pleasant because of the continuous sea breezes. Since we are located on the 35° parallel, here summer is longer… from the beginning of the spring until late autumn.

La Rosa dei Venti

The history of Lampedusa

Back in the days Lampedusa was harbor for many population navigating the Mediterranean (Romans, Saracen, Greek…). A turning point happens in 1843, when Ferdinand V, king of the Sicilies, the Commander Bernard Maria Savisente colonized the island.

After the two Sicilies kingdom fall in 1860, the Pelagie archipelago was reunited to the rest of italy. In 1968, on Cavallo Bianco the airport was built. The island has been touristically discovered in 1986 after Gheddafi’s tragical event which brought an ‘unexpected fame’.

Over the past 20 years the island gathered worldwide fame thanks to the immigration from North Africa phenomena. This phenomena is experienced in a different way from the locals, than the rest of the world. Indeed, locals had always welcomed the immigration phenomena with humanity and deep solidarity, being aware that after being immediately rescued in the sea, they are brought in a dedicated hotspot, given first aid and shunted to other cities in a few days. Therefore, while the media represents a collapsing island, the real way Lampedusa experiences immigration is the following: who visits the island for the first time is amazed in finding an opposite place to what is the collective imaginary.

 

“Actually, immigration does not interfere with tourism, because in Lampedusa immigrants are only passing by. Therefore, there is a real island and a mediatic one. It’s the narration that creates damage, not the reality.” Nino Taranto, Lampedusa Historic Archive responsable.

 

Our mission is that the world can see Lampedusa with its natural light.