A Regional Natural Park and UNESCO site, the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto are an oasis of incomparable beauty where nature and art blend together to create unforgettable scenes.
A lush Mediterranean vegetation, alternating with stretches of barren coast, rich in ravines and caves already known to primitive man, characterizes the island of Palmaria, whose name derives from the Celtic word “Balma”, meaning “cave”.
The island of Tino, now entirely a military zone, was an ideal place for meditation and prayer for the monk Venerio, a hermit who lived here sometime during the first centuries of Christianity. Evidence of this are the remains of the Abbey dedicated to him dating back to the eleventh century and built on a pre-existing chapel built in the seventh century on the tomb of the saint.
The Tinetto, at 18 meters tall, is little more than a rock. Lashed by the waves in the winds, and completely devoid of vegetation, it shows surprising traces of the presence of religious communities attested by the ruins of a small chapel dating from the sixth century, and even a church with two aisles built in stages up to the eleventh century and destroyed during pirate raids.
