Lampedusa and Linosa – Marine Reserves

Many choose to spend a few days of their vacation at Lampedusa for its crystal-clear waters. But, besides being very beautiful, the Pelagian Isles are also the most southerly Marine Reserves of the province of Agrigento and indeed of Italy and the European continent. The archipelago composed of Lampedusa and Linosa represents the natural and geological intersection of two continents: Africa and Europe. The island of Lampedusa is of limestone and therefore white, as the Isola dei Conigli, one of the most beautiful beaches of the world. Linosa, in stark contrast, is of volcanic origin and therefore as black as a black pearl with many marvelous coves and rocks. The nature reserve of Lampedusa, established by the Sicilian regional government in 1995 and managed by the Legambiente Sicilia, covers about 320 hectares of the southern coast of the island and stretches from Vallone dell’Acqua to Cala Greca, including Isola dei Conigli. It protects a natural heritage of great value which is distinguished by rare species and habitats at risk of extinction. The flora in the nature reserve is composed of species typical of Mediterranean marine scrub such as Euforbia, Lentisco, Pino d’Aleppo as well as plants typically found on the African continent such as Centaura Acaulis. Birdlife is very rich too and rare species such as Marangone dal Ciuffo, Falco della Regina,  Colubro Lacertino, Colubro del Cappuccino, Berta Minore and Berta Maggiore may be spotted.

The nature reserve of Linosa and Lampione includes, as the name suggests, the uninhabited and distant Isle of Lampione, territory of many rare species of fish and sharks such as the Squalo Toro and the Squalo Grigio. Linosa represents an extraordinary habitat both inland, with its extinct craters Monte Rosso, Monte Nero and Monte Volcano, and in its coastal waters which are richly populated by fish, starfish, sea cucumbers, sponges and sea urchins. The nature reserve was established by the Sicilian regional government in 2000 with the aim of protecting the rich flora composed of musks, lichens and rock vegetation and the varied fauna, in particular large colonies of Berta Maggiore, a bird which lives in and on the water and comes inland only to reproduce and breed. Be sure not to miss the spectacle of the infinite flocks of birds which settle on the coastal waters at sunset as the water assumes a variety of colours from red to gold. These islands are connected to the Sicilian ‘mainland’ by ship andby hovercraft both leaving from the harbour of Porto Empedocle.