italiaoscura - Tumblr blog

[italiaoscura]

#islandprisonparadise numero 3: #Pantelleria, #Sicily. Known as the Black Pearl of the Mediterranean, this volcanic island is closer to the coast of Tunisia than it is to Italy. . . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #italianculture #italianhistory #beachview #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #letsgoeverywhere #takewalks #sicilia #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

#islandprisonparadise: Favignana, #Sicily. The beaches here once ran red with the mattanza, a traditional tuna-killing festival. It typically attracted hundreds of visitors, but was banned in 2008 due to falling tuna populations. . . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #italianculture #italianhistory #beachview #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #travelingourplanet #letsgoeverywhere #takewalks #sicilia #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

#Islandprisonparadise: #Favignana, #Sicily. In 241 BC, two hundred Roman ships under General Catulus routed the much larger Carthaginian fleet of 400 ships. It was the first in a string of victories that would eventually end the First Punic War. To celebrate his winning campaign, Catulus built a temple to Juturna in the Campus Martius, in the area currently known as the Largo di Torre Argentina in Rome. . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #italianhistory #beachview #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #travelingourplanet #letsgoeverywhere #takewalks #sicilia #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

#islandprisonparadise numero 3: Pantelleria, #Sicily. The island has changed hands numerous times in the centuries since prehistoric nomads left tombs known as "sesi" scattered across the fertile landscape. Among the attractions are the white cone-shaped ancient dwellings, known as dammusi. . . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #italianculture #italianhistory #beachview #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #travelingourplanet #letsgoeverywhere #takewalks #sicilia #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

#islandprisonparadise numero 3: Pantelleria, #Sicily. Various conquerors, who have included Turks, Arabs, the Carthaginians and the Romans, have used this tiny island as a penal colony. . . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #italianculture #italianhistory #beachview #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #travelingourplanet #letsgoeverywhere #takewalks #sicilia #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

#Islandprisonparadise: #Favignana, #Sicily. The project of jailing Libyan dissidents was not merely to stave off a colonial revolt in Libya. Italy had only unified a few decades prior, and had no national identity to speak of. More than that, the ruling class in the north of Italy looked to their southern compatriots with disdain. They were poorer, they were darker-complexioned, they spoke different dialects. Thus, to the ruling class in the north, these remote southern islands were as foreign as Libya, and similarly needed colonization. They thought of the penal colonies as a way to bring agricultural cultivation to these "wild" and "virgin" places through the labor of political prisoners. . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #italianhistory #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #travelingourplanet #letsgoeverywhere #takewalks #sicilia #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly #history

[italiaoscura]

Alright, we're onto another #islandprisonparadise: Favignana, #Sicily. This cerulean idyll belies a brutal history. After Italy invaded Libya in 1911, the Italian military shipped thousands of Libyan political dissidents to this butterfly-shaped island, the biggest of the Egadi isles off the western tip of Sicily. The dissidents were held in abysmal conditions on this and many other southern islands, and many of them died. . . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #italianculture #italianhistory #beachview #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #travelingourplanet #letsgoeverywhere #takewalks #sicilia #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

#IslandPrisonParadise: Yeah, I'm still talking about #Montecristo. Banish me, daddy. . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #islands #beachview #tuscany #toscana #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #italianhistory #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #italyiloveyou #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

#IslandPrisonParadise: #Montecristo allows just 1,000 visits per year and there's a long waiting list, managed by Italy's forest service, and those that do get permission for day trips need to hire a boat. Once there they'll get a tour from a state forest guide, taking in a cave and monastery dedicated to hermit Saint Mamilian, who is said to have defeated a dragon here about 1,500 years ago. . . . . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #islands #beachview #tuscany #toscana #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #italianhistory #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #italyiloveyou #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

#IslandPrisonParadise: I mean, can you imagine being banished to here? Wild and uncontaminated, #Montecristo is so pristine it's been designated a biogenetic reserve by the European Union and is now home to the island's solitary guardian, some wild goats and a few seals. . . . . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #islands #beachview #tuscany #toscana #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #italianhistory #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #visititalia #italygram #italytrip #italy_photolovers #italyiloveyou #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

#IslandPrisonParadise: The REAL island of #Montecristo. A granite mountain that rises in the middle of the #Tyrrhenian Sea, this gem of the #Tuscan Archipelago became a penal colony in the 19th century and later served as a hunting ground for Italian royalty. . . . . . . . . . . . #italy #italian #italia #italiaoscura #deeptravel #islands #beachview #tuscany #goexplore #passionpassport #destinationearth #beautifuldestinations #ilikeitaly #traveldeeper #travelingourplanet #letsgoeverywhere #italianhistory #photooftheday #postcardfromitaly #italianplaces #igitaly #italygram #italy_photolovers #travelgram #travelinspo #heartofitaly

[italiaoscura]

Italian islands attract the glitterati, but once upon a time they were the favored spots for to banish persone non grata. Emperors and dictators, and even modern governments, built prisons and exiled dissidents to these outrageously beautiful places. Pictured, the island of #Montecristo, in #Tuscany. . . . . . . . . . #italiaoscura #italia #travel #vacation #italianhistory #history #postcardfromitaly #beautifuldestinations #italianplaces #visititalia #travel #romeitaly #ricksteves #igitaly #italygram #italya #italytrip #italy_photolovers #italyiloveyou #travelgram #travelinspo #travelmore #heartofitaly #islands #toscana

[italiaoscura]

Post-war #Italy, or yesterday?

[italiaoscura]

Italy—in its own seductive, indolent way—is a harbinger for the wider world, I've come to believe. The collapse of a major bridge in #Genoa two weeks ago, and now, the collapse of the roof of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami in #Rome earlier today portend things to come. The bias towards believe tomorrow will be just like today, the weakening efforts toward maintaining, sustaining, protecting what we have—these tendencies are everywhere. In the first photo, the roof of the church, in tact, obviously. In the second, well...

[italiaoscura]

A pocket guide to the dark and wild corners of #Italy. Coming Fall 2018.

[italiaoscura]

The black sand of Stromboli, a tiny Aeolian island off the coast of Sicily and an active volcano for the past two millennia. At nearly 9,000 feet, the volcano and its ever-present halo of steam has earned the moniker "light house of the Mediterranean". 500 hearty souls call it home, and live with the knowledge that it may blow its top at any moment.

[italiaoscura]

Even brides of Christ need to kick back and enjoy the summer sun. Nuns at the beach on #ferragosto, 1959.