Lazio · Latina
Ventotene
The smaller of the inhabited Pontine Islands, a flat three-kilometer tuff platform southeast of Ponza.
Picked by Peter Benei
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Visiting
- J14°
- F14°
- M14°
- A16°
- M19°
- J23°
- J27°
- A27°
- S25°
- O22°
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- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Ventotene is three kilometers long, eight hundred meters wide, and almost flat, the smallest inhabited Pontine island. Volcanic in origin, it sits in the Tyrrhenian Sea southeast of Ponza and has roughly seven hundred year-round residents. The Romans used the island as a place of imperial exile: after the daughter of Augustus, it held her daughter Agrippina, then Octavia, Nero's first wife.
The harbor they cut into the tuff cliff is still one of the island's two working ports, a direct physical link between the ancient settlement and the modern one that still uses it. The neighboring islet, converted into a prison by the Bourbons in 1797, was reactivated under Mussolini, and between 1939 and 1943 held up to seven hundred political prisoners, among them a communist confined to the main island who wrote a founding text of European federalism on cigarette papers with two co-authors. A small flat island with no room for separation between its parts, Ventotene has functioned across the centuries chiefly as a place to put people the mainland wanted at a distance.
How to get there
Ventotene is on an island and is reached by ferry.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Porto Romano
Still used today, one of the few ancient harbors in Italy in continuous service.
Carcere di Santo Stefano
Up to 700 antifascists were detained here between 1939 and 1943.
Museo del Manifesto di Ventotene
Town museum dedicated to Altiero Spinelli and the writing of the Manifesto, housing the story behind the federalist text.
Villa Giulia
Roman imperial villa ruins on the eastern bluff, the exile residence of Julia the Elder, daughter of Augustus.
Cala Nave
Main swimming beach on the eastern coast under tuff cliffs, with the offshore stack of Scoglio della Nave as its visual anchor.
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.
Un Mare di SaporiBistrot
Un Mare di Sapori carries one Gambero Rosso table.
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?
Ventotene 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 687, down 4.8% since 2015
- Homes in the center: €2,200 to €3,200 per m² to buy, €9.40 to €13.20 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- Full fibre reaches 83% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Regional capital Rome, across the water
If you are moving here
Who lives here
10% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and Bangladesh, against 9% across Italy. There are 338 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 46% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Latina province ranks 83rd 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, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.5% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Lazio spends about €2,270 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €647 a year for water, on the Lazio 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. 14% 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
VENTOTENE MANIFESTO
1941 federalist text drafted by Altiero Spinelli, Ernesto Rossi, and Eugenio Colorni in confino, foundational document of European federalism.
SANTO STEFANO
Bourbon prison on the islet 1.5 kilometers east, reopened under Mussolini to hold antifascist political prisoners until 1943.
PORTO ROMANO
Roman harbor cut directly into the tuff cliff, the same dock where Julia the Elder was unloaded into exile in 2 BC.
Common questions
- What is Ventotene known for?
- Ventotene is the smaller of the inhabited Pontine Islands, a flat three-kilometer tuff platform southeast of Ponza.
- Where is Ventotene?
- Ventotene is a comune in the province of Latina, in Lazio, at 18 meters above sea level.
- How do you get to Ventotene?
- Ventotene is on an island and is reached by ferry.
- When is the best time to visit Ventotene?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Ventotene?
- Capraia Isola, Isole Tremiti and Forio.
- How many people live in Ventotene?
- 687 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Ventotene a good place to live?
- Ventotene is an island town, reached by ferry, which our Where to Move in Italy series treats as the furthest end of the road. Full fibre reaches 83% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 18 m
- Population: 687
- Surface area: 1.75 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 Ventotene appears in
Similar
Towns like Ventotene
What all six share with Ventotene: near sea level
Capraia Isola
Province: Livorno
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both under 1,000 people
Isole Tremiti
Province: Foggia
both under 1,000 people · both islands, reached by ferry
Forio
Province: Napoli
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both islands, reached by ferry
Procida
Province: Napoli
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both islands, reached by ferry
Capri
Province: Napoli
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both islands, reached by ferry
Atrani
Province: Salerno
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both under 1,000 people
The letter
Ventotene 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 Ventotene comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 174 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.