Pantelleria
Encyclopedia
Pantelleria the ancient Cossyra, is an Italian
island
in the Strait of Sicily
in the Mediterranean Sea
, 100 km (62.1 mi) southwest of Sicily
and just 60 km (37.3 mi) east of the Tunisia
n coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune
belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani
. With an area of 83 km² (32 sq mi), it is the largest volcanic satellite island of Sicily.
and has been the locus of intensive volcano-tectonic activity. The 15-km-long (15 kilometres (9.3 mi)) island is the emergent summit of a largely submarine edifice. Two large Pleistocene
caldera
s dominate the island, the older of the two formed about 114,000 years ago and the younger, Cinque Denti caldera formed about 45,000 years ago. The eruption that formed the Cinque Denti caldera produced the distinctive Green Tuff
deposit that covers much of the island, and is found across the Mediterranean, as far away as the island of Lesbos in the Aegean. Holocene
eruptions have constructed pumice cones, lava dome
s, and short, blocky lava flows. Post Green Tuff activity constructed the cone of Monte Gibele, part of which was subsequently uplifted to form Montagna Grande. Several vents are located on three sides of the uplifted Montagna Grande block on the southeast side of the island. A submarine eruption in 1891 from a vent off the northwest coast is the only confirmed historical activity.
Currently the island is undergoing a period of deflation, and Montagna Grande is slowly sinking. This is thought to be caused by the magma beneath the volcano cooling and degassing. There are also numerous hot spring
s and fumeroles on the island, due to an active hydrothermal system. Favara Grande, in the south east of the island, is one of the best examples. The island is also releasing a small amount of CO2
through passive degassing.
The island is the type locality for peralkaline
rhyolitic
rocks, pantellerite
s.
The island is fertile, but lacks any fresh water. The principal town (pop. about 3,000) is on the north-west, upon the only harbour (only fit for small steamers), which is fortified. There was also a penal colony here.
The original population of Pantelleria did not come from Sicily, and was of Iberian
or Ibero-Ligurian
stock. After a considerable interval, during which the island probably remained uninhabited, the Carthaginians
took possession of it (no doubt owing to its importance as a station on the way to Sicily) probably about the beginning of the 7th century BC, occupying as their acropolis
the twin hill of San Marco and Santa Teresa, 2 km (1.2 mi) south of the town of Pantelleria. The town possesses considerable remains of walls made of rectangular blocks of masonry, and also of a number of cisterns. Punic tombs have also been discovered, and the votive terra-cottas of a small sanctuary of the Punic period were found near the north coast.
The Romans
occupied the island as the Fasti Triumphales record in 255 BC, lost it again the next year, and recovered it in 217 BC. Under the Empire
it served as a place of banishment for prominent persons and members of the imperial family. The town enjoyed municipal rights.
In 700 the island was conquered by the Arabs, from whose language the island's name is taken: Bent El Riah بنت الرياح "the daughter of the winds", which represents the strong winds that arise off the north coast of Africa. In 1123 Roger of Sicily took the island, and in 1311 an Aragonese
fleet, under the command of Lluís de Requesens
, won a considerable victory here, and his family became princes of Pantelleria until 1553, when the town was sacked by the Turks
.
Its capture was regarded as crucial to the Allied success in invading Sicily in 1943 because it allowed planes to be based in range of the larger island. Pantelleria was heavily bombarded, from both air and sea, in the days before the scheduled invasion, and the garrison finally surrendered as the landing troops were approaching. The capture of Pantelleria was called Operation Corkscrew
and it played a part as a vital base for Allied aircraft during Operation Husky.
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, about 7.5 m (24.6 ft) high, 10 m (32.8 ft) wide at the base and 5 m (16.4 ft) at the top, upon the undefended eastern side: within it remains of huts were found, with pottery, tools of obsidian, and other artifacts. The objects discovered are in the museum at Syracuse
.
To the south-east, in the district known as the Cunelie, are a large number of tombs, known as sesi, similar in character to the nuraghe
of Sardinia
, though of smaller size, consisting of round or elliptical towers with sepulchral chambers in them, built of rough blocks of lava
. Fifty-seven of them can still be traced. The largest is an ellipse of about 18 by, but most of the sesi have a diameter of only 6 metre. The identical character of the pottery found in the sesi with that found in the prehistoric village proves that the former are the tombs of the inhabitants of the latter.
, and lies close to the main route from east to west through the Mediterranean.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the Strait of Sicily
Strait of Sicily
The Strait of Sicily is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. It is about wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea from the eastern Mediterranean. Its maximum depth is ....
in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, 100 km (62.1 mi) southwest of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and just 60 km (37.3 mi) east of the Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
n coast. Administratively Pantelleria is a comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
belonging to the Sicilian province of Trapani
Province of Trapani
Trapani is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Trapani.It has an area of 2,460 km², and a total population of 425,121...
. With an area of 83 km² (32 sq mi), it is the largest volcanic satellite island of Sicily.
Geology
The island of Pantelleria is located above a drowned continental rift in the Strait of SicilyStrait of Sicily
The Strait of Sicily is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. It is about wide and divides the Tyrrhenian Sea and the western Mediterranean Sea from the eastern Mediterranean. Its maximum depth is ....
and has been the locus of intensive volcano-tectonic activity. The 15-km-long (15 kilometres (9.3 mi)) island is the emergent summit of a largely submarine edifice. Two large Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
s dominate the island, the older of the two formed about 114,000 years ago and the younger, Cinque Denti caldera formed about 45,000 years ago. The eruption that formed the Cinque Denti caldera produced the distinctive Green Tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
deposit that covers much of the island, and is found across the Mediterranean, as far away as the island of Lesbos in the Aegean. Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
eruptions have constructed pumice cones, lava dome
Lava dome
|250px|thumb|right|Image of the [[rhyolitic]] lava dome of [[Chaitén Volcano]] during its 2008–2009 eruption.In volcanology, a lava dome is a roughly circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano...
s, and short, blocky lava flows. Post Green Tuff activity constructed the cone of Monte Gibele, part of which was subsequently uplifted to form Montagna Grande. Several vents are located on three sides of the uplifted Montagna Grande block on the southeast side of the island. A submarine eruption in 1891 from a vent off the northwest coast is the only confirmed historical activity.
Currently the island is undergoing a period of deflation, and Montagna Grande is slowly sinking. This is thought to be caused by the magma beneath the volcano cooling and degassing. There are also numerous hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s and fumeroles on the island, due to an active hydrothermal system. Favara Grande, in the south east of the island, is one of the best examples. The island is also releasing a small amount of CO2
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
through passive degassing.
The island is the type locality for peralkaline
Peralkaline
Peralkaline rocks include those igneous rocks which have a deficiency of aluminium such that sodium and potassium are in excess of that needed for feldspar. The presence of aegerine and riebeckite are indicative of peralkaline conditions....
rhyolitic
Rhyolite
This page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
rocks, pantellerite
Pantellerite
Pantellerite is a peralkaline rhyolite. It has a higher iron and lower aluminium composition than comendite. It is named after Pantelleria, a volcanic island in the Strait of Sicily and the type location for this rock. On Pantelleria the rock is usually found as a vitrophyre containing phenocrysts...
s.
The island is fertile, but lacks any fresh water. The principal town (pop. about 3,000) is on the north-west, upon the only harbour (only fit for small steamers), which is fortified. There was also a penal colony here.
History
Archaeological evidence has unearthed dwellings and artifacts dated at 35,000 years ago.The original population of Pantelleria did not come from Sicily, and was of Iberian
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
or Ibero-Ligurian
Ligures
The Ligures were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, a region of north-western Italy.-Classical sources:...
stock. After a considerable interval, during which the island probably remained uninhabited, the Carthaginians
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
took possession of it (no doubt owing to its importance as a station on the way to Sicily) probably about the beginning of the 7th century BC, occupying as their acropolis
Acropolis
Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...
the twin hill of San Marco and Santa Teresa, 2 km (1.2 mi) south of the town of Pantelleria. The town possesses considerable remains of walls made of rectangular blocks of masonry, and also of a number of cisterns. Punic tombs have also been discovered, and the votive terra-cottas of a small sanctuary of the Punic period were found near the north coast.
The Romans
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
occupied the island as the Fasti Triumphales record in 255 BC, lost it again the next year, and recovered it in 217 BC. Under the Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
it served as a place of banishment for prominent persons and members of the imperial family. The town enjoyed municipal rights.
In 700 the island was conquered by the Arabs, from whose language the island's name is taken: Bent El Riah بنت الرياح "the daughter of the winds", which represents the strong winds that arise off the north coast of Africa. In 1123 Roger of Sicily took the island, and in 1311 an Aragonese
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
fleet, under the command of Lluís de Requesens
Lluís de Requesens
In 1311 a Catalan-Aragonese fleet, under the command of Lluís de Requesens, won a considerable victory at Pantelleria, and his family became princes of Pantelleria until 1553, when the island was taken by the Turks....
, won a considerable victory here, and his family became princes of Pantelleria until 1553, when the town was sacked by the Turks
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
Its capture was regarded as crucial to the Allied success in invading Sicily in 1943 because it allowed planes to be based in range of the larger island. Pantelleria was heavily bombarded, from both air and sea, in the days before the scheduled invasion, and the garrison finally surrendered as the landing troops were approaching. The capture of Pantelleria was called Operation Corkscrew
Operation Corkscrew
During World War II, Operation Corkscrew was the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria on 10 June 1943. There had been an early plan to occupy the island in late 1940 , but this was aborted when the Luftwaffe strengthened the Axis air threat in the region.The Allied focus returned...
and it played a part as a vital base for Allied aircraft during Operation Husky.
Main sights
A Middle Bronze Age village was situated on the west coast, 3 km (1.9 mi) south-east of the harbour, with a rampart of small blocks of lavaLava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
, about 7.5 m (24.6 ft) high, 10 m (32.8 ft) wide at the base and 5 m (16.4 ft) at the top, upon the undefended eastern side: within it remains of huts were found, with pottery, tools of obsidian, and other artifacts. The objects discovered are in the museum at Syracuse
Syracuse, Italy
Syracuse is a historic city in Sicily, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in...
.
To the south-east, in the district known as the Cunelie, are a large number of tombs, known as sesi, similar in character to the nuraghe
Nuraghe
The nuraghe is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia. Today it has come to be the symbol of Sardinia and its distinctive culture, the Nuragic civilization...
of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, though of smaller size, consisting of round or elliptical towers with sepulchral chambers in them, built of rough blocks of lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
. Fifty-seven of them can still be traced. The largest is an ellipse of about 18 by, but most of the sesi have a diameter of only 6 metre. The identical character of the pottery found in the sesi with that found in the prehistoric village proves that the former are the tombs of the inhabitants of the latter.
Wine
Pantelleria is noted for its sweet wines, Moscato di Pantelleria and Moscato Passito di Pantelleria, both made from the local Zibibbo grape.Transportation
The island is served by a single airport served by AlItalia and Meridiana airlines. The island can be reached by ferries from TrapaniTrapani
Trapani is a city and comune on the west coast of Sicily in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands.-History:...
, and lies close to the main route from east to west through the Mediterranean.