The stunning island of Palmarola is the second-largest island in the Pontine archipelago. Due to its steep cliffs and spectacular rugged landscape, the island is mostly uninhabited during the year except for the summer months. The French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau described it, “as the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean Sea”. In the past, the islanders of Ponza would farm Palmarola and seek shelter from corsairs in their cave dwellings, which were built into the volcanic rock above the island’s only accessible bay. The island became a prison for the…
