Page 464 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

offshore nature reserve where turtles come to lay their eggs. Bear in mind that it’s a

small, exposed island, so summer evenings are cooler than on the mainland. It’s also
not really somewhere you’d want to holiday in winter, when the wind whips across
the barren landscape.

LAMPEDUSA’S FAUNA AND FLORA

When Lampedusa became a Bourbon colony in the 1840s, one of the first actions of
the new settlers was to strip the land of its indigenous Mediterranean maquis, in
order, it was thought, to render the island cultivable. The result was one of Europe’s
most extreme examples of deforestation, resulting in massive soil erosion that
accounts for the arid state of the land today. However, a progamme of conservation

and reforestation is gradually having some effect and, while Lampedusa still appears
devoid of greenery at first glance, a closer look reveals a wide range of plant life.
Date palms are dotted along otherwise barren stretches, and, at Cala Galera in
particular, look out for the Phoenician juniper, carob and wild olive trees, all
survivors of the original maquis. Rare plants include the Caralluma europaea, a

cactus-like plant with star-shaped flowers, and the Centaurea acaulis, from the
centaury family, while during spring the flowering squills, irises, crocuses, orchids,
echinops and thyme make up a vibrant display. Meanwhile, the nature reserve of
Isola dei Conigli is the only habitat in Italy of the Psammodromus algirus lizard – a
common species in North Africa – and Lampedusa and Linosa are among the few
surviving nesting places in Italy of the turtle Caretta caretta. During summer

evenings, the turtles deposit between 100 and 150 eggs in deep holes, from which
the babies stagger out after sixty days. The nests are individually fenced off, but that
doesn’t help protect them from peregrine falcons. Injured turtles are cared for at the
World Wildlife Fund’s Centro Recupero Tartarughe Marine on the island’s east
coast at Cala Creta, before being released back into the sea.

Lampedusa Town

Its location – set back from two curving harbours – is the best thing about
LAMPEDUSA TOWN, as otherwise it is nothing special to look at. Low concrete
buildings hug a dusty grid of streets between airport and harbours, though things
improve along the wide, main Via Roma, which is largely closed to traffic and lined

from top to bottom with gift shops, pavement cafés and restaurants. On summer
evenings, as the temperature drops, out come the wicker café chairs, souvenir stalls,
jewellery hawkers and fruit-and-veg stands, and a real street-market atmosphere
develops. Indeed, there are far more people on the street at 11pm than 11am. You can
buy the usual beach gear, postcards and T-shirts, but there’s also a thriving trade in
souvenirs like turtle carvings, sculpted beach rocks and hand-crocheted Arab caps.