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The islands can be easily reached from Foggia by helicopter and from the main coastal locations nearby, by means of motorboats and hydrofoil. They include: the island of S. Domino, the largest and the most popular for tourists and completely covered by a luxuriant pine forest in Pino d'Aleppo; the island of S. Nicola, the administrative, historical and religious capital; the island of Caprara which may owe its name to the caper plants or more probably to the presence of wild goats, the distant and uninhabited Pianosa and some rocks amongst which il Cretaccio and la Vecchia. There are a lot of tourist attractions. The splendid Cala delle Arene, Cala degli Inglesi, Cala Matano, present on S. Domino, can easily be reached on foot to spend whole days in the sun bathing in crystal clear variously coloured water. It is possible to get away from the most crowded areas and reach the remaining splendid bays that surround islands with small craft. It is also possible to admire the beauty of the coastal formations like rocks (Scoglio dell'Elefante), isolated crags (I Pagliai) and natural arches (l'Architiello). Then there are the mysterious caves: Grotta delle Viole with its vertically rocks, Grotta delle Rondinelle, Grotta del Sale where the smuggled salt was hidden, the Grotta del Bue Marino, 70 m in length and the ancient refuge of the monk seal with the overhanging high cliff called Ripa dei Falconi where the Eleonora's falcon, the Peregrine and the Cory's Shearwater nest. These birds, according to legend, represent the incarnation of the warriors of Diomedes buried here on returning from the Trojan War. In the dark nights their song can be heard. It is similar to cries and laments and is considered the cry of warriors for their lost hero. It is also possible for tourists to sail around the islands on the numerous ships belonging to a co-operative, which operate in the summer showing the beauty of the Tremiti coast. On S. Domino there are some Diving Centres where, amongst other things, you can book a guided tour both along the most interesting soundings around the Islands and aroung the site where the statue of Padre Pio is emerged. This statue sculpted by Mimmo Norcia was placed there in 1998 at a few metres of depth on the bottom near the Scoglietti on the island of Caprara. However, the Tremiti islands are not only sea. A visit to S. Nicola means a trip back into the past: just by looking at the walls of the Fortress you can relive the history of a warring abbey still struggling against the Saracen or Dalmatian pirates. The Medieval cloisters, the Renaissance one and St. Mary church with its Polyptych and the wooden Crucifix, this is just a selection of the splendid architectural work to be admired on the island of S. Nicola. In the summer period, the most important events on the Tremiti islands include a typical confectionery and cake festival and a medieval historical procession in S. Nicola. The religious events include the patron's feast day the "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary" which is celebrated on the 15th and 16th August. During this celebration, the image of the Madonna is taken on procession both by land around the town's streets and by sea around the islands on a fishing boat, which has been appropriately adorned. On the same days, the inhabitants of the island organise other events like an enormous fry-up of fish in the Town Square and the greasy pole. Tourists are guaranteed a comfortable stay by the numerous hotels, boarding houses, inns and campsites. Enormous mullets, dentex, giltheads, amber-jacks and other typical seafood make a holiday in these splendid islands an unforgettable experience.
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Landing on the quay of the wharf which marks the boundary of the small port of S. Nicola to the South West, two buildings can be seen which maintain many signs of their previous use for defending the port: on the right there is the sea fort which was used until a short time ago as a power station for the production of electricity and which is now abandoned; on the left there is the Admiral's house today the headquarters of the customs. The two forts are connected by a wall with arrow slits which made up the first line of defence. Just before the fort on the left, there is the entrance to the fort through a sixteenth century portal which has undergone great transformation over time. The climb towards the Tower of the Knight of the Crucifix begins as one goes through the entrance portal with a stone pavement called The Pedamentina sloping upwards. On the right of the path, a large wall appears which was originally crowned with merlons and which closes the first defensive system. The wall continues on the left of the path with splayed arrow slits; the entrance portal to the Flag Tower can be seen above, at the end of the climb. Inside the tower, the walkway consists of a ramp and the whole tower is covered by a cross-vault. The tower gives access to a first level of the fortress called the Field. Before entering this level, in the tower it is possible to admire a Renaissance portal which gives access to the ancient guards rooms; a bastion called the Cannon bastion is reached by means of the accessible stone steps on the left. The main road of the island is defined on either side by a series of buildings built around 1840 and used as dormitories for the detainees; the base of the system is the Abbey fortress. The fortress is reached through the portal of the cylindrical Angevin tower. The tower is characterised by a Ghibelline embattlement. A wooden bridge has replaced the old drawbridge. Following the path a Square tower is reached on the right and on the left it is possible to look out over the fourteenth century bastion which defended the first door, the drawbridge and the castle walls with the artillery. A second XIV century portal gives access to the Keep. Above the portal a stone tabernacle dating back to the gothic period is still visible. It portrays a Madonna with Child. Once inside the Keep, there is a second door called "portcullis or carettera" and further in front there is a door which gives access to a false level where there is a tank with a large well-head called of the Meridian. This part of the Fortress has been completely changed by the nineteenth century work. The stone staircase which leads to the church square is today degraded and already changed by restoration work carried out in 1792. The facade of St. Mary's Church is a backdrop to the square and is at right angles to the uphill slope. The current aspect of the church has probably been influenced by a series of transformations: from the one carried out in 1755 to the restoration work finished in 1964 by the Superintendence for Monuments. On the left of the square, opposite the face of the church, a portal leads to the quadrangular shaped Medieval Cloisters. On the four sides of the cloisters there is a covered portico with cross-vaults which are laid on large pillars. The open part of the church is characterised by the presence of a well restored in 1793, as the date carved on the Renaissance cornice reports. From the doctor's house to the "Cegliere bellissimo" (beautiful Cellar), the route takes us back more or less to the height of the field, that is the height of the castle moat, with a difference of approximately 11 metres. The Cellar or salt cave is included in the bastion of the fortress and consists of a large room covered by three cross-vaults bordered with subtle ribs. From these rooms it was possible to gain access once again to the Westerly exposed part of the cloisters where, on the left, there was the large Barbary on whose side there was an ancient Capitulary room; at the end of the XVIII century, this area must have undergone demolition with a subsequent transformation. Moving towards the East we enter the Renaissance Cloisters. The date the work was carried out is probably the one reported on one of the round medallions which decorate the top of the arches. The sixteenth and seventeenth century incisions which portray the archipelago with the fortified island in the middle show the renaissance cloisters built on three or four sides. Today, the only remains of this valuable work, which was begun and completed by the Abbot Matteo Mecenate from Vercelli, is the North facing portico. Moving in an easterly direction we reach a square which has been completely degraded by small rooms built recently for military use and later abandoned. The square is closed by the imposing mole of the Knight of St. Nicolò the last defensive bulwark of the island. The cutting called La Tagliata is the point between the fortress and the S. Nicola plateau in which the island lowers drastically and narrows, as if it had been artificially cut. According to tradition this kind of bottleneck is supposed to have been carried out by Lateranensi Monks during the fortification work of the Abbey; it was, however, more probably caused by one of the violent earthquakes which have repeatedly struck the archipelago. The connection between the S. Nicola plateau and the field was guaranteed until the middle of the twentieth century by a mule track which ran along the Southern side of the island which is now broken up. The other side of La Tagliata we reach the vast S. Nicola plateau. This area which is uninhabited today holds many important archaeological signs which allow us to reconstruct the history of the island from prehistoric times to the medieval. A path makes its way through the cave-like prehistoric tombs and the nechropolis which can be dated back to the V or III century B.C. A short distance from them is the commonly believed tomb of Diomedes. The road continues towards a Domus Romana of which only the foundation walls are visible. At the bottom of the plateau, beyond the Navy's weather station and some defence bunkers dating back to the two world wars, there is the modern cemetery of the Tremiti community built in 1806 when the French arrived.
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