I kicked my legs powerfully, breaking the surface of the sea and breathing in lungfuls of Adriatic air as the salt water cleared from my eyes. I surfaced to look around. There were high cliffs in front of me. From the shore came the deafening sound of cicadas, as loud as a storm. For some, it was both bittersweet that such a sense of freedom could be experienced in a place that had once been a prison.
Located about 25 miles off the coast of northern Puglia, the Tremiti Islands served as Italy’s version of Siberia for almost two millennia. Caesar Augustus is said to have exiled his grandson here, supposedly for extramarital infidelity. Then, 800 years later, Charlemagne exiled his father-in-law to these rocky shores, but only after blinding him and amputating his limbs. In the early 20th century, more than a thousand Libyans resisting Italian colonial rule arrived here (a third of them died of typhus within a year).
Then, in the 1930s, Mussolini’s regime rounded up hundreds of gay men, mostly from Sicily and Naples, and threw them in for the simple crime of behaving as they did.
The feeling of tremors is much less Siberian these days. During the summer months, ferries bring Italian holidaymakers from the port of Termoli, an hour away on the mainland. There is also a helicopter service from Foggia, but it is not a high roller paradise like Capri. The stores here sell flip-flops and beach sticks, not Ferragamo or Bottega Veneta. Come to Pugliesi to enjoy the slow pace of life, renting boats to explore tranquil bays and enjoying a spritz or two as the sun sets. The islands are also a summer magnet for divers and snorkelers, with their warm, clear waters and teeming schools of fish.
I am a good open water swimmer, but I was also interested in learning more about the men imprisoned here by Il Duce. As far as I could tell, the descendants of islanders from that period appeared to have little knowledge passed down to them, or they chose to remain silent on the matter.
“Yes, my grandmother and grandfather told me about them,” a boat captain, his skin wrinkled from the sun and his cigarette hanging from his lower lip, told me nonchalantly. “But why do we dwell on the past?”
“Learning from history?” I replied in my basic Italian.
A new book L’Isola Degli Arrusi (Arrusi Island) by Rome-based photojournalist Luana Rigolli (available from her website) features unimaginably sad photographs of men whose arrest would bring shame to their families back home. They look defeated as they look out from the pages. However, although the curfew bell rang at 8pm every evening, imprisoning them, the friendship also brought a sense of freedom, unwittingly creating Italy’s first openly gay community. According to the fascists, these had to be collected and stored because they challenged the claim that all Italian men were strong, macho and masculine. When war broke out in 1939, they were sent back to the mainland to face house arrest and dishonor.
The archipelago hosts a fortified 11heThe century-old monastery still towers majestically above the harbor on the island of San Nicola, where small boats bob on the waves of the Adriatic and owners sit in cafes in Speedos, T-shirts and sunglasses, gossiping over espresso.
San Nicola’s neighbor, San Domino (60 seconds away by water taxi), has numerous hotels and restaurants, a food shop and post office, a small beach, secluded coves, and a dense forest of Jerusalem pines. Locals say there is a tree for every sin the monks commit.
I was here for a week for a sea swimming holiday and my base was the simple, charming La Vela Hotel, run by husband and wife team Ornella and Tonino. Every morning I enjoyed homemade pastries and cakes while peering through the trees towards the shore, and every evening I walked out onto the front deck to watch the sun set. Each day I would swim 2-3km along the coast of one of the islands in the morning, followed by a nice leisurely break for lunch – pizza at La Fenice or spaghetti alle vongele by the 86-year-old chef Vittorio at A Smerza – a similar distance dive in the afternoon more. I was accompanied at all times by my guide Giulia and a support boat (there can be a maximum of 15 people in a group), so if you want to jump in at any point you can.
At night, drinks and dinner would be had at local restaurants: tuna tartare by the pool at Da Elio, for example. I also enjoyed a substantial aperitif at La Torretta in the shadow of the monastery in San Nicola. If you find yourself at Il Torrione, don’t pass up a plate of caponata (spicy, diced, fried eggplant).
Depending on where the prevailing wind was blowing that day, Giulia and our boat driver Salvo took us to the most sheltered spots before getting into the hot water. One day we swam in the rocks below the monastery. Another time, we dived past an old lighthouse, where the sun’s rays hit the blue depths below us. We then crawled ahead through rock arches and pine-lined bays, eyeing out tiny silver fish, before emerging to listen to the cicadas sing again. One afternoon, I held my breath to dive for the sunken statue of Saint Pio, placed on the sea bed for good luck.
When it was time to leave, I sat on the dock and paused to think about those who have been exiled here over the years, especially the gay men who were exiled to Tremiti almost 100 years ago. I wondered if they would be able to get into the water here, feel the warmth of the sun, and feel the sense of freedom, even if temporarily. I’m grateful that we live in a more tolerant age, at least in this country.
Fundamentals
Will Hide traveled as a guest of Swimtrek (swimtrek.com), which offers weekly half-board Tremiti trips from £1,190 per person (two sharing), excluding flights. BA, Easyjet and Ryanair all fly to Bari, which is a two-hour train journey from central station to Termoli (trenitalia.com; from £15 one way); From here it takes ferries an hour to reach San Domino (nlg). .it; from £26 one way).
Flight and ferry timetables often mean that a night in Termoli is essential: Locanda San Giorgio is an easy walk from both the train station and the port, and is also close to restaurants. Rooms are simple but clean and air-conditioned (locanda-sangiorgio.it; Bed and Breakfast doubles from £43). An alternative is to take a train from Bari to Foggia and then take a 20-minute helicopter to San Domino, but passengers can only take small bags on board (alidaunia.it; from £40 one way).