Pantelleria: The Black Pearl of the Mediterranean

Known by many as "The Black Pearl of the Mediterranean", Pantelleria is a Sicilian Island located in the centre of the Sicilian Channel known as an intermediate stopover between Africa and Sicily (110 km southwest of Sicily and 65 km northeast of Tunisia, whose coast is often visible to the naked eye) and a cornerstone for trade with the Levant.

Its geographical position and the richness of its territory have played a fundamental role in its history, making it an immense heritage of biodiversity, but also a welcoming place for the peoples of the Mediterranean, as evidenced by the presence of numerous archaeological areas on the island.

The territory is of volcanic origin. The last eruption took place, in 1891 (on the north-western slope, in the submerged part), but many secondary volcanic phenomena are still present (mainly hot waters and steam puffs).

The native flora of the island is made up of the Mediterranean scrub, very luxuriant in the south-eastern regions. The dominant elements of this landscape are broom, maritime pine, and aromatic plants. The water scarcity has made the development of irrigated agriculture impossible. A variety of caper grows spontaneously, which today also represents one of the main crops on the island, together with the vine.

Pantelleria is characterized by the uniqueness of its landscape, in which natural elements (block lava flows, coves and stacks) blend with landscape elements created by man such as dry stone walls (with the function of delimiting the land property and protecting from the wind) and the Pantelleria gardens, (almost always cylindrical constructions in dry lava stone masonry, with the dual function of protecting the citrus fruits from the wind and providing the right amount of water to the plant, where the island naturally lacks it).

Architecturally, the island is characterized above all by the presence of Dammusi, cubic constructions typical of the island, with thick dry lava stone walls, white domed roofs, and round arched openings; ancestral examples of bio-climatic architecture. Outside the inhabited centres, it is the only type of housing present and the most exclusive for tourist stays.

Among the wonders of Pantelleria deserve to be included:

- The "Mirror of Venus" (so called because, it is said, the Goddess Venus was mirrored before meeting Bacchus). It is a natural lake that occupies the crater of a volcano, a small lake basin fed by thermal waters. In addition to the fantastic scenery of flora and fauna in which it is immersed, in fact, the lake is even more famous for its thermal muds, and is also suitable for birdwatchers;

- The Castle of Pantelleria, a medieval monument in lava stone used as a prison until 1975, today is the museum of the most important archaeological finds (since 2015);

- Balata dei Turchi, a bay among the most fascinating places on the island with seabed and a ridge with sensational colours: it is said that it was once a natural stopover used by pirates.

The gastronomy of Pantelleria presents a great variety of typical dishes, in which Sicilian and Arab world characteristics are mixed; among them: a variant of couscous called “tabulì” and a ricotta cake called "bacio pantesco".

Another dish of Maghrebian ancestry is the “merghez”, a beef sausage, abundantly spiced with hot chilli. There are numerous dishes based on legumes and a typical fresh cheese is also produced, named “tumma”, consumed both sweet and salty.