ITINERARIO LE ISOLE PONTINE
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Now reachable by ferry from Formia, Terracina, San Felice Circeo and Anzio, PONZA was an important Roman base as can be seen from the ruins still visible on the island (Pilate’s Grotto, an eel fishery, large scale hydraulic works and tunnel). Lining the brightly coloured Corso Pisacane, the village of Ponza dates back to the 18th century; it includes a 16th century Bourbon Tower (now a hotel), as well as municipal offices and the church of Trinità. Other features of Ponza are the semicircle of houses overlooking the port, the coloured cliffs, the numerous coves and beaches which line the coast and the beauty of the sea-bed. In order to fully appreciate them, it is necessary to take a boat trip round the island, to understand the true magnificence of the unique rock formations, the lighthouse, the stacks, the beaches of Chiaia di Luna and Punta Capo Bianco, the stacks of Lucia Rosa, Feola and Acqua, Fontana and Fonte bays, Cala del Gaetano, the Spaccapolpi rock, Cala d’Inferno, Cala del Core and Frontone beach. Approximately 6 miles from Ponza lies the tiny island of PALMAROLA whose marvelous seabed and obsidian-rich rock formations are the result of ancient volcanic eruptions. Approximately 6 miles off the other side of Ponza lies the island of ZANNONE. Now part of Circeo National Park, Zannone is famous for its fine holm oak woods, various flocks of mouflon sheep, the ruins of its medieval monastery of S. Spirito and its Roman eel fishery at the natural port. Created as the result of the activity of underwater volcanoes, VENTOTENE (which can be reached by ferry from Formia and Terracina) was clearly inhabited in Roman times as can be seen from the ruins of the port, the fisheries and Villa Giulia (at Punta Eolo). The urban centre dates back to the 18th century and develops around the castle (now home to the municipal offices and an Archaeological Museum) and the church of S. Candida. The island is very small and easy to explore on foot and offers marvelous views over both sea and land. The coast is lined with beaches (including Calanave, Cala Rossano, Parata Grande, Punta Eolo, Cala Bosco, Punta Pascone, Punta dell’Arco, Cala Battaglia and many others). Ventotene was also the place in which the first document of Italian Europeanism - Manifesto for a Free and United Europe – was drafted by A. Spinelli, E. Rossi and E. Colorni. Indeed, this document is now known as the Manifesto of Ventotene. Just over a mile from Ventotene lies the tiny island of S. STEFANO. Dominated by the ruins of the former Bourbon prison - in which various irredentists, anarchists and antifascists were held captive – Ventotene and S. Stefano are now part of a marine nature reserve and protected by severe codes of behaviour.
