'Daughter of the Wind'
In the middle of the Mediterranean, Pantelleria rises from the sea, a masterpiece of dark rocks and black obsidians characterized by jagged lava rock formations, steaming fumaroles and sulphurous mud baths. Due to its location on a former trade route between Tunisia and Sicily , it was nicknamed 'the Black Pearl of the Mediterranean'. Due to the constant wind, the island was called Bent-el-Riah at the time of the Arab domination, which means 'daughter of the wind'. A wind that one day carries the smell of the desert from the southeast and the next the salty moist mistral from the northwest; air currents that yielded unique agricultural traditions that have turned arable farming into a man-made work of art of nature. The low-hanging caper bushes, dwarf grapevines and olive trees planted on terraces between dry stone walls were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Visit the island during the summer and fall seasons for the sagras , local festivals celebrating the harvest of capers, olives and Zibibbo grapes.
Even more
In addition to archaeological sites from before the Arab and Roman rule, healing mud baths such as Specchio di Venere and natural saunas and water caves Benikulà and Nikà , Pantelleria has even more to offer. It is drenched in hiking trails and there are also beautiful trails to be covered on horseback or by mountain bike. The road to the top of Montagne Grande in the nature reserve of the same name, for example, which leads through pine forests past wild flowers and offers a magnificent view at the highest point. Bird watchers can also indulge themselves, because thanks to its special location, the island is a hotspot for migrating birds.