The island of Ponza. Photo: stock.adobe.com/Matteo Ciani
When you say holiday in Italy, you immediately think of Capri, Sardinia or Sicily - but the Mediterranean holds other treasures far off the beaten track.
Capri, Sardinia, Ischia, Sicily, Elba - Italy's island world has world stars to offer, which are correspondingly crowded in high summer. In addition, there are a whole series of smaller, quieter islands in the Mediterranean and Adriatic that hardly anyone has yet discovered: without cruise ships off the coast, without selfie queues in front of the sights, but with crystal-clear water, village life and the feeling that time has stood still somewhere.
1st Favignana - Sicily's relaxed island paradise
Photo: stock.adobe.com/Carlo
Just a short ferry ride from Trapani lies Favignana, the largest of the Egadi islands - and yet it is surprisingly unknown. Lagoons in all shades of blue, jagged cliffs, soft sandy beaches: the island has everything that a Mediterranean holiday promises, but hardly any of the hustle and bustle that you have to fear elsewhere. If you want, you can hire a bike and cycle around the island in just a few hours. If you want to go diving, you will find one of the most beautiful underwater worlds in Sicily off the coast. And if you simply want to sit and drink granita, the small bars in the harbour town are the perfect place to do so. Here, the clocks tick even slower - and that's exactly the point.
2 Pantelleria - Italy's most secret island
Pantelleria is geographically closer to Tunisia than to Sicily - and feels just as foreign, idiosyncratic and fascinating. The volcanic island has no white sandy beaches, but instead natural thermal pools in lava rocks, terraced vineyards and the so-called dammusi - centuries-old round houses made of black lava rock, which are now rented out as holiday flats. Anyone on holiday here is immersed in a different world: archaic, quiet, unspoilt. No mass tourism, no beach bars, no rows and rows of souvenir shops. Instead, there are capers picked straight from the plant and sunsets that you won't forget in a hurry.
3. Ponza - Capri without the hustle and bustle
Colourful houses nestled down the hillside, a lively little harbour, turquoise grottoes and steep cliffs that drop vertically into the sea - when you see Ponza for the first time, you immediately think of Capri. The crucial difference: Ponza, located off the coast of Lazio, does not have nearly as many visitors. During the day, sailing boats anchor in the bays, but in the evening the island belongs to itself again. Divers in particular love Ponza for its underwater caves and the clear view down to the seabed. Anyone who knows Capri and has wondered what it would be like without the crowds of tourists - Ponza has the answer.
4th Tremiti Islands - Italy in the eighties
The Tremiti Islands off the Apulian Gargano coast are a small miracle: hardly any cars, hardly any noise, but cliffs that fall into the clearest Adriatic water and sea caves that can only be reached by boat. The archipelago consists of just five islands, three of which are inhabited - and very tranquil at that. Anyone arriving here has the feeling of travelling back to a holiday world of long ago: no large hotels, no crowds of tourists, but small trattorias where the patron still cooks himself. A real alternative to modern mass tourism - and yet only a ferry ride away from Puglia's coast.
5 Filicudi - The silent sister of the Aeolian Islands
Photo: stock.adobe.com/Eugenia Struk
While Stromboli is a tourist magnet due to its active volcano and Salina has long since been discovered, Filicudi still leads a largely unnoticed existence - even though the small volcanic island is part of the Aeolian Islands, one of the most beautiful island groups in the Mediterranean. Around 300 people live here, there are hardly any cars and internet is sporadic. Visitors to Filicudi have to embrace tranquillity - and are rewarded with almost deserted bays, hiking trails with panoramic views over the Tyrrhenian Sea and an island life that has hardly changed in decades.
6 Salina - Green oasis among the Aeolian Islands
Salina stands out from afar: Unlike its barren sister islands Lipari or Vulcano, it is lush and green, with vineyards, caper fields and small forests. Anyone who has seen the film The postman If you know Salina, you know Salina - it was filmed here and the island's hilly landscape has hardly changed since then. Village life in Santa Marina or Malfa is authentic and relaxed, the Malvasia wine is excellent and the beaches are quiet. Salina is the ideal place for anyone who wants to experience the Aeolian Islands - but without the party atmosphere that prevails on some neighbouring islands in summer.
7th Giglio & Giannutri - Tuscan secret pearls
Anyone spending their holiday on the Tuscan coast or on Elba should plan a day trip to the small neighbouring islands of Giglio and Giannutri. Giglio is the larger of the two: a small island with a pretty medieval village high up on the hill, with vineyards bordering directly on the sea and with beaches that are still pleasantly manageable compared to Elba. Giannutri is even smaller and almost entirely a nature reserve - ideal for snorkellers and anyone who simply wants to spend a few hours pretending that the sea is all theirs.
