Isle of Marettimo – Hiera Nésos
With its beautiful crystal clear waters still uncontaminated, Marettimo, the westernmost of the Egadi Islands, offering natural and archaeological treasures of true beauty. In ancient times, the Greek name of the island was Hiera Nésos, that is, the Holy Island; The Romans then called it Marìtima, probably because of the abundance of the wild thyme spontaneously growing lush on its territory.
According to the Odyssey, an epic poem written by Homer, Marettimo would really be considered a sacred island as it would coincide with the mythological Ithaca, motherland of Ulysses.
Furthermore, on this island, it was signed peace treaty by the end of the Punic Wars between the Romans and Carthaginians. During the Middle Ages the Normans built a castle, which will later be used as a prison and a fascinating rural church built by Greek-speaking Basilian monks and dedicated to San Simone. The fantastic scenery of the island of Marettimo offers high rocks peaking over a transparent sea of turquoise color, beautiful caves, with intense or blurred colors, depending on the light games created by sunlight against the rocky walls and the water surface. Suggestive caves accessible by boat such as the beautiful “Perciata” cave, rich in stalactites, stalagmites and limestone deposits; the “Nativity grotto” where the limestone deposits have created figures that remind the Nativity characters; the “bombarda” cave that takes its name from the roars produced by the wave motion; and finally the shallow of the “Cretazzo”, an ideal dive site for underwater photographers for the lush flora and abundant marine life.