Puglia · Foggia
Isole Tremiti
An Adriatic archipelago of five islands twenty-two kilometers off the Gargano, the only Italian commune scattered across an open-sea group.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Isole Tremiti is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu.
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Visiting
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- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in July at 28° and coldest in February at 14°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Five islands make up the group: San Domino, the abbey island, Capraia, Cretaccio and Pianosa. Only San Domino and the abbey island are inhabited, with 486 residents between them. Ancient sources called the group the Insulae Diomedaee, for the Greek hero said to be buried here.
The name sits alongside a much later use of the same isolation: for two thousand years the islands have served as a place of confinement, from Libyan resisters in 1911 to Sandro Pertini and the antifascist confinati in the 1920s to six hundred gay men deported here by Mussolini in 1938. San Domino carries the woods, the one sand beach, and the village above its harbor. The abbey island carries the fortress and the church that once governed the group.
The other three, Capraia, Cretaccio and Pianosa, are uninhabited, with Pianosa the furthest out and the most restricted. The distance that made the archipelago a natural prison for two thousand years is the same distance that now keeps its water among the clearest in the Italian Adriatic.
How to get there
Isole Tremiti is on an island and is reached by ferry.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Abbazia di Santa Maria a Mare
The abbey church stands on the high terrace of San Nicola, above the harbor. Inside, a mosaic floor and a polyptych altarpiece survive from the monastery's working centuries.
Castello dei Badiali
The fortified circuit the Benedictines built around the abbey to hold off pirate raids. Walls and watchtowers remain in place around San Nicola.
San Domino
Largest and most forested island, with Aleppo pine woods, the only sand beach in the archipelago at Cala delle Arene, and the village above the harbor.
Grotte di San Domino
Sea caves carved into the limestone cliffs of San Domino, the Grotta del Bue Marino and the Grotta delle Viole the best-known, reached by boat.
Pianosa
Northernmost island of the group, uninhabited and accessible only with permit, the strictest zone of the marine protected area.
Living here
Could you live here?
Isole Tremiti is an island.
- Reached by ferry. In the series we say we would never live on an island: the ferry is a commitment every time you leave.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 486, up 4.1% since 2015
- Villas and detached houses in the center: €1,600 to €3,200 per m² to buy, €3.30 to €6.70 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- Fibre to the street cabinet; no full fibre mapped yet
- No primary school in the comune's register
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Regional capital Bari, across the water
If you are moving here
Who lives here
10% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania and Poland, against 9% across Italy. There are 344 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 41% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Foggia province ranks 98th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Puglia spends about €1,500 a month, €440 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €545 a year for water, on the Puglia average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 19% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
BENEDICTINE ABBEY
Santa Maria a Mare on San Nicola, fortified abbey ruling the islands from the eleventh century, with mosaic floor and surviving abbey-castle walls.
MARINE RESERVE
Open-sea protected area inside the Parco Nazionale del Gargano, with limestone cliffs, sea caves, and some of the clearest water in the Italian Adriatic.
PLACE OF CONFINEMENT
Two thousand years as a prison: Libyan resisters in 1911, Pertini and the antifascist confinati in the 1920s, six hundred gay men deported in 1938.
Common questions
- What is Isole Tremiti known for?
- Isole Tremiti is an Adriatic archipelago of five islands twenty-two kilometers off the Gargano, the only Italian commune scattered across an open-sea group.
- Where is Isole Tremiti?
- Isole Tremiti is a comune in the province of Foggia, in Puglia, at 116 meters above sea level.
- How do you get to Isole Tremiti?
- Isole Tremiti is on an island and is reached by ferry.
- When is the best time to visit Isole Tremiti?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Isole Tremiti?
- Capraia Isola, Ventotene and Rodi Garganico.
- How many people live in Isole Tremiti?
- 486 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Isole Tremiti a good place to live?
- Isole Tremiti is an island town, reached by ferry, which our Where to Move in Italy series treats as the furthest end of the road. Fibre reaches the street cabinets; no full fibre is mapped yet.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 116 m
- Population: 486
- Surface area: 3.18 km²
On the map
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Isole Tremiti appears in
Similar
Towns like Isole Tremiti
What all six share with Isole Tremiti: near sea level
Capraia Isola
Province: Livorno
both under 1,000 people · both islands, reached by ferry
Ventotene
Province: Latina
both under 1,000 people · both islands, reached by ferry
Rodi Garganico
Province: Foggia
both on the Adriatic coast
Peschici
Province: Foggia
both on the Adriatic coast
Vieste
Province: Foggia
both on the Adriatic coast
Ustica
Province: Palermo
both islands, reached by ferry
The letter
Isole Tremiti is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Isole Tremiti comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 229 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.