Sicily · Trapani
Pantelleria
A volcanic island closer to Tunisia than Sicily, where dry-stone dammusi sit among bush-trained Zibibbo vines listed by UNESCO.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pantelleria is on our list
It holds Città del Vino.
Subscribe and you get Pantelleria's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Oct
- Getting there
- By ferry, or fly in (PNL)
- Population
- 7,199
- J15°
- F15°
- M15°
- A16°
- M19°
- J22°
- J26°
- A27°
- S25°
- O23°
- N20°
- D17°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 27° and coldest in February at 16°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Pantelleria lies 110 kilometers southwest of Sicily and 70 east of Tunisia, a fifteen-kilometer island that is the emergent summit of a largely submarine volcano. Montagna Grande rises to 836 meters; the coast is black basalt cliff with almost no sand. The dammusi, square dry-stone houses with thick walls and white-painted domed roofs, were built from local volcanic rock, the technique dating to around the tenth century when the island was part of the Zirid emirate.
The vineyards are planted in the alberello pantesco, vines trained low in shallow pits dug into the volcanic soil to catch wind and dew, the only agricultural practice on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The Zibibbo grape, also called Moscato di Alessandria, arrived with the Phoenicians and produces Passito di Pantelleria DOC, made from sun-dried bunches. The Specchio di Venere, a thermal lake fed by springs at 35 to 58 degrees, sits in an elliptical crater in the north of the island.
How to get there
Pantelleria is on an island and is reached by ferry.
There is an airport on the island (PNL), so you can fly in rather than take the ferry.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Arco dell'Elefante
Basalt sea arch on the east coast resembling an elephant lowering its trunk into the water, between Cala Levante and Cala Tramontana.
Specchio di Venere
Thermal volcanic lake in a 450 by 350 meter elliptical crater, fed by three springs running between 35 and 58 degrees.
Montagna Grande
Island's highest point at 836 meters, an extinct volcanic cone with hiking paths and steam vents inside the Parco Nazionale Isola di Pantelleria.
Dammusi
Traditional square stone houses with thick walls and white-painted domes, built from black volcanic rock, the oldest dating to the tenth century Zirid emirate.
Vigne ad alberello pantesco
Bush-trained Zibibbo vineyards in shallow pits in volcanic soil, the only cultivation practice listed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
I Giardini dei RodoRistorante
I Giardini dei Rodo carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
La NicchiaTrattoria
La Nicchia carries one Gambero Rosso prawn.
Osteria Il Principe e Il PirataRistorante
Osteria Il Principe e Il Pirata holds a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Pantelleria 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 7,199, down 6.1% since 2015
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,200 to €1,750 per m² to buy, €3.70 to €5.40 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 34% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Regional capital Palermo, across the water
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Tunisia and Sudan, against 9% across Italy. 33 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, Switzerland and France. There are 214 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 59% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Trapani province ranks 93rd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is an emergency room in the comune.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
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 Sicily spends about €1,820 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €524 a year for water, on the Sicily average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone B, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from December 1 to March 31, up to 8 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 2% 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.
Thermal baths in town: Sorgenti Acque Calde San Gaetano, Terme di Gadir.
Known for
PASSITO
Passito di Pantelleria DOC, sweet wine of sun-dried Zibibbo grapes, with the alberello pantesco cultivation on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage list.
DAMMUSI
Square dry-stone houses with thick volcanic walls and white domed roofs, technique dating to the tenth-century Zirid emirate.
MONTAGNA GRANDE
836-meter volcanic summit at the center of the Parco Nazionale Isola di Pantelleria, with steam vents and a thermal lake at its base.
Common questions
- What is Pantelleria known for?
- Pantelleria is a volcanic island closer to Tunisia than Sicily, where dry-stone dammusi sit among bush-trained Zibibbo vines listed by UNESCO.
- Where is Pantelleria?
- Pantelleria is a comune in the province of Trapani, in Sicily, at 8 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Pantelleria?
- There is an airport on the island (PNL).
- How do you get to Pantelleria?
- Pantelleria is on an island and is reached by ferry.
- When is the best time to visit Pantelleria?
- Best in May–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and January the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pantelleria?
- Lampedusa e Linosa, Ustica and Lipari.
- How many people live in Pantelleria?
- 7,199 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pantelleria a good place to live?
- Pantelleria is an island town, reached by ferry, which our Where to Move in Italy series treats as the furthest end of the road. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 34% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 8 m
- Population: 7,199
- Surface area: 84.53 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.
Similar
Towns like Pantelleria
What all six share with Pantelleria: near sea level
Lampedusa e Linosa
Province: Agrigento
both on the Sicilian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Ustica
Province: Palermo
both on the Sicilian coast · both islands, reached by ferry
Lipari
Province: Messina
both on the Sicilian coast · both islands, reached by ferry
Ponza
Province: Latina
both between 3,000 and 10,000 people · both islands, reached by ferry
San Vito Lo Capo
Province: Trapani
both on the Sicilian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Realmonte
Province: Agrigento
both on the Sicilian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
The letter
Pantelleria 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 Pantelleria comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 575 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.