Forget Capri, Santorini or Corsica. Palmarola is considered by many to be the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean.
Palmarola is a little paradise just over an hour from Rome and one of Italy's best-kept secrets. It's also unknown to most Italians.
On the island, you will not find houses, hotels, bars, shops or cars. Nor crowds. On site, there is only one restaurant – which only opens during the summer – and a few curious people who peek at the wild beauty of Palmarola. Instead of the confusion – which dominates the rest of the Mediterranean islands –, you can expect freshly caught fish and an unparalleled view.
The pristine nature and turquoise blue sea make you feel like a real Indiana Jones, ready to explore a new world with a prehistoric past. Time seems to have stopped in the Jurassic era.
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The highest point on the island is Punta Tramontana, from where you can admire the haunting ruins of a medieval monastery and a prehistoric village.
Purple, red, brown, green, white, yellow and pink are some of the colors you see on the cliffs. The rocks shine due to the crystals and minerals that form them, and the water is translucent. Swimming in the caves is an unmissable experience.
Tourists can choose to spend the night in Palmarola, in a cave formed by the rocks – which was an old home of one of the fishermen who inhabited the island in times past – or camping in a tent. The only restaurant open on the island – O' Francese – has some rooms for rent, but they are always busy.
O' Francese has a curious history. The Frenchman after whom the restaurant is named lived in Ponza before moving to France, where he started a family. But the island where he spent some years of his childhood, living in a fishermen's cave with his father, never left his mind. It was then that he decided to return to Palmarola with his wife, and build a wooden shack, which ended up being transformed into a restaurant.
To reach Palmarola, the only option is to go to Terracina, a town just over 100 kilometers from Rome, and take a boat to the island of Ponza. From there you will have to take another boat that will take you to the location.
By Mafalda Magrini/Around the World
