Sicily suggested itineraries

From the sea, Palazzo Florio is visible long before we reach the Island of Favignana where it was built, in the distant 1874. The building was constructed by the influential Sicilian industrialist Ignazio Florio, soon after his coming in to possession of the Egadi islands and Favignana's tuna fisheries. Until the tourist boom, the economy of the island was based on tuna fishing and tuff quarrying and, to this very day, from the bay of Cala Rossa, signs of where the great blocks of tuff were extracted from the rock can still be seen. One of the best ways of exploring Favignana is by boat, sailing past the island's many spectacular seacaves and the enchanting bays of Cala Azzurra, Cala Rotonda and Cala Grande.

A particularly fertile island where now extinct volcanoes once regularly erupted, Pantelleria is famous for its passito wine, capers and dammusi (the islanders' traditional low stone dwellings). The Specchio di Venere, testifies to the geological activity of the island and has become one of the symbols of Pantelleria. This lake, of volcanic origin, is known both for the stunning colors of its waters and the health inducing properties of its mud. At Cala Gadir, the sea water is heated by underwater thermal spring waters. Inland, any number of favare can be seen: natural crevices from which gusts of piping hot steam are emitted. A trip around the island by boat allows passengers to admire the many sea caves and incredible rock formations which characterize the coastline, including the striking Arco dell'Elefante.

The clear waters and magnificent beaches of Lampedusa, the remotest of the Sicilian islands, have for centuries been chosen by the Caretta Caretta turtles as places where to deposit their eggs. On the island, the WWF has created a turtle recovery center, where injured and sick Caretta Caretta turtles are cured. A diver's paradise, Lampedusa boasts a number of superb beaches including Cala Francese, Cala Madonna, Spiaggia dei Conigli, this latter opposite the island of the same name, and Guitgia, the lively beach close to the port.

The island of Linosa is smaller than Lampedusa and, with its volcanic origin, in many ways similar to Pantelleria. Linosa's tiny harbor lies in the shadow of the island's extinct volcanoes, the highest of which is the magnificent Monte Vulcano. Here again, visitors come to bathe in the crystal clear sea and explore a seabed rich in marine life.