San Nicola
This rough and rocky island has the charm of real islands and a rich history. San Nicola lies 25 miles north of Rodi Garganico and has a surface of 0.16 sq.miles and a coastline of 3.5 miles. It is separated from San Domino by a 500-meter-wide channel. This is the only one of the Tremiti Islands with a village inhabited all-year-round and is therefore the administrative centre of the group of islands: town-hall, post-office and first-aid station are here. The island reaches its highest point (75 m) right in the centre. San Nicola was first inhabited in the 2nd millennium B.C. and was used in the Roman age by Emperor Augustus when he sent his niece Giulia into enforced residence. The island was fortified in the VII century by Charles of the Anjevin and subsequently inhabited first by the Benedictines (who turned one of the fortresses into a monastery) and then by the Cistercian monks. Ferdinand IV of Bourbon turned it into a penal colony at the end of the XVIII century. Its past can be read in the remains of the castle, of the abbey and of the fortified citadel dominated by the Torre dei Cavaliere. San Nicola is famous both for its very clear waters and for the rich marine-fauna. Plenty of some of the most common Italian fish-species live in these waters: white bream, dentex, sea bass and grouper.
 

     

 Food & Wine  - Gastronomy. Giant mullet, dcntex, lobster, gilthead. Good wine is produced on the island of San Domino but in small quantities.