Native name: Arcipelago di La Maddalena | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of the archipelago | |
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Strait of Bonifacio (Tyrrhenian Sea) |
| Administration | |
| Region | Sardinia |
| Province | Sassari |
| Largest town | La Maddalena |
The Maddalena Archipelago is a group of islands in the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica (France) and Sardinia (Italy). The whole archipelago makes the territory of the La Maddalena comune in Sardinia.
The archipelago consists of seven main islands and numerous small islets. The largest one is the island of La Maddalena (Italian : Isola La Maddalena), with a homonymous town, which is the largest settlement in the archipelago. The other six islands, in order of size, are: Caprera, Spargi, Santo Stefano, Santa Maria, Budelli and Razzoli. Only Maddalena, Caprera, and Santo Stefano are inhabited; Budelli had a single caretaker until 2021. [1]
Lying adjacent to the tourist resort of the Costa Smeralda, Maddalena has the same clear waters and wind-blown granite coastlines but remains a haven for wildlife. It is a designated national park, the Parco Nazionale Arcipelago di La Maddalena. It is a popular tourist destination, especially among boaters. In 2006 it was placed on the tentative list for consideration as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The islands have been inhabited since prehistoric times. They were known by the Romans as Cunicularia and were a busy shipping area during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The Maddalenas have a strategic value and were the object of a dispute between the maritime republics of Pisa and Genoa in the 13th century and subsequently was abandoned for a long period before being colonised again by Corsican shepherds and by Sardinian settlements in the 18th century. Napoleon Bonaparte, Admiral Nelson, and Giuseppe Garibaldi all have historical links with the area.
The main access into and out of the archipelago is via the frequent car ferries from Palau on Sardinia that run into La Maddalena. There are roads only on Maddalena and Caprera.
From 1973 until 2008 the Santo Stefano island was a home for the NATO naval base which housed US nuclear submarines. [2] [3] Controversy arose in 2003 when the USS Hartford ran aground in the vicinity of the Bisce Island while on maneuvers in the area.
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, 10 km (6.2 mi) from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, and the third largest island in Italy, after Sicily and Sardinia. It is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea about 50 km (30 mi) east of the French island of Corsica.
The province of Grosseto is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people.
Caprera is an island in the Maddalena archipelago off the coast of Sardinia, Italy. In the area of La Maddalena island in the Strait of Bonifacio, it is a tourist destination and the place to which Giuseppe Garibaldi retired from 1854 until his death in 1882. Scarcely populated, the majority of the inhabitants live in Borgo di Stagnali. The island of Caprera is entirely included in the La Maddalena Archipelago National Park: a marine and land protected area of national and community interest. In particular, the marine zone in front of the area of Punta Rossa, a southern extension of the island, is an area with maximum environmental protection, with Cala Andreani and Spiaggia del Relitto. The eastern ridge of the island is a land zone of full protection, while the marine area in front of Punta Coticcio, including Cala Coticcio, is protected by the managing authority of the National Park.
Gallura is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy.
Bertoleoni is the proclaimed ruling family of the styled "Kingdom of Tavolara", which claimed to be "the smallest kingdom of the world". The members of this family were also the only inhabitants of this island that had been abandoned in 1962. The island was claimed by Italy, however, it was never officially annexed and therefore this does not abolish any prior royal titles. The people of the island sustained themselves by goat farming and fishing. Currently, the supposed kingdom is a tourist attraction for the 57 or so native inhabitants of the island, where the current king and crown princess run its two restaurants and sell souvenirs to visitors of the Natural Park. The family has more influence over the island than anyone else.
Giannutri is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Tuscany, Italy; it is the southernmost island of the Tuscan Archipelago and it is a frazione of the comune of Isola del Giglio in the Province of Grosseto.
La Maddalena is a town and comune located on the islands of the Maddalena archipelago in the province of Sassari, northern Sardinia, Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Montecristo, also Monte Cristo and formerly Oglasa, is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea and part of the Tuscan Archipelago. Administratively it belongs to the municipality of Portoferraio in the province of Livorno, Italy. The island has an area of 10.39 km2 (4.01 sq mi), is approximately 4.1 km (2.5 mi) wide at its widest point, and is 3.4 km (2.1 mi) long; the coasts are steep, and extend for 16 km (9.9 mi). The island is a state nature reserve and forms part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park.
The Tuscan Archipelago is a chain of islands between the Ligurian Sea and Tyrrhenian Sea, west of Tuscany, Italy.
Santo Stefano is an island in the Maddalena archipelago of northern Sardinia, Italy, and part of the Maddalena National Park.
Budelli is an island in the Maddalena archipelago, near the strait of Bonifacio in northern Sardinia, Italy. It is one of the seven islands that comprise Arcipelago di La Maddalena National Park.
Arcipelago di La Maddalena National Park is a geomarine national park on the coast of Sardinia. The park was established on 1 April 1994, followed by the change of DPR on 17 May 1996. It covers an area on land and sea of over 12,000 hectares and 180 kilometers of coasts. This region includes all the islands and islets within the territory of the Municipality of La Maddalena, Italy. The territory of the National Park will also represent an important part of the Bocche di Bonifacio international marine park which will soon be established.
Arcipelago Toscano National Park is a large Tuscan Archipelago national park and marine park in the Provinces of Grosseto and Livorno, western Tuscany, Italy.
The Gargano National Park is a national park in the province of Foggia in southern Italy. Aside from the Gargano promontory from which it takes its name, it includes also the Tremiti Islands archipelago and the wetlands Lago Salso. It is the largest park in Apulia.
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and an autonomous region of Italy. Tourism in Sardinia is one of the fastest growing sectors of the regional economy. The island attracts more than a million tourists from both Italy, from the rest of Europe, and, to a lesser degree, from the rest of the world. According to statistics, tourist arrivals in 2016 were 2.9 million people.
Isola Razzoli Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located on an islet, 2.45 kilometres (1.52 mi) long, in the Maddalena archipelago. The lighthouse is the northernmost in Sardinia, on the eastern approach to the Strait of Bonifacio, and is at 7.42 kilometres (4.61 mi) from the French Lavezzi archipelago. The island is in the municipality of La Maddalena on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Punta Filetto Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located on the Isola Santa Maria, which makes part of the Maddalena archipelago, on the northern point of the island facing Barrettinelli di Fuori Lighthouse from which it is 1.4 kilometres (0.87 mi) away. The island is in the municipality of La Maddalena on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Spargi is an island of Italy. It is situated in the Maddalena archipelago, in the Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica and Sardinia. It is the third largest island in the archipelago, and is uninhabited. It is within the Arcipelago di La Maddalena National Park.
41°13′13″N9°23′22″E / 41.2203°N 9.38944°E
