{"id":68003,"date":"2015-02-16T13:40:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-16T12:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/?p=68003"},"modified":"2026-10-12T21:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T20:46:16","slug":"ustica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/en\/ustica","title":{"rendered":"Ustica"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The small island of Ustica<\/strong>, which has largely remained wild, stands out in particular for the quality of its seabeds and its many caves. It is a paradise for divers, protected by Italy’s oldest marine nature reserve.<\/p>\n

Overview of Ustica<\/h2>\n

Ustica lies off the coast of Sicily, about 65 kilometres north of Palermo<\/a> and 95 kilometres west of the island of Alicudi<\/a>, the westernmost of the Aeolian Islands<\/a>.
\nIts greatest width is 3.5 km and its area is about 9 km\u00b2.<\/p>\n

This island is only the small emerged part of a large and ancient underwater volcano, with the remains of vents such as Punta Maggiore (244 m) and Guardia dei Turchi (238 m).
\nThe dark colour of its volcanic rocks is probably the origin of its name, derived from the Latin Ustrum<\/em> (burnt). Its jagged coastline hides many caves and coves.<\/p>\n

The inhabitants live from fishing and tourism, but also from a growing agricultural production, including famous lentils, as well as renowned wine.<\/p>\n

Historical overview<\/h2>\n

The Greeks called the island Osteodes (the island of bones<\/em>), perhaps because of the presence of numerous human bones, which according to a legend are the remains of sailors bewitched by the song of sirens and who lost their minds.
\nDiodorus Siculus links them to the bones of thousands of Carthaginian mercenaries abandoned on the island by their commander during a mutiny in a war against Syracuse.
\nIt was the Romans who named it Ustica (from ustum<\/em> meaning burnt). In Greek mythology, it has also been identified (along with the island of Salina) as Aeaea, the home of the sorceress Circe, the one who turned visitors into pigs.<\/p>\n

Many remains were found on the island and on the seabed, including evidence from the Palaeolithic, underwater shipwrecks, with traces of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, and even Saracen pirates who long used the island as a base.<\/p>\n

In 1759, the island was colonised by order of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, building the urban centre of Cala Santa Maria.<\/p>\n

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