A brief history of Lampedusa

The story of Lampeudsa is an adventure story full, as perhaps someone may be obvious, ships, pirates, conquerors and travelers, sailors and poets, mysteries, religions and legends; a history of those who you see in the movies and still leaves his testimony on the island.

Here is the description that Bernardo Sanvisente, first governor of the island,made on his arrival in 1843:

"It 's also indisputable evidence that it was an island inhabited by ancient peoples, the amount of heater, tombs, amphorae, lamps, and the number of ruins and monuments that are found in all the coins found there luogo.Between the money found there where some coming from Syracuse, Agrigento, the era of the Roman consuls and Impreatori ... there were Arabs, Turks, Venetians, French and Maltese "

Given its central position in the Mediterranean Lampedusa was the scene of fierce fighting at the time of the crusades and was a land conquered by the Saracens as Christians. The historical record of frequent battles between Christians and Saracens took place, in fact, in the waters of Lampedusa gave the poet Ludovico Ariosto in the Orlando Furioso, the idea of environment on the island a duel between the Paladins of France and Saracens:

"che s'abbia a ritrovar con numer pare

di cavalieri armati in Limpadusa

un'isoletta è questa, che dal mare

medesimo che la cinge, è circonfusa"

and again:

"d'abitazioni è l'sioletta vota

piena d'umil mortelle e di ginepri,

gioconda solitudine e remota

a cervi, a daini, a caprioli e lepri;

e fuor cha ai pescatori è poco nota

ove sovente a rimandati vepri

sospendon, per seccar,l'umide reti:

dormono intanto i pesci in mar quieti"

Of this narrative is still on the island remember the names of some places like "Punta white horse" riding in memory of Orlando, was the area where of the combat and turned red for the blood shed; also the tower of Orlando that once dominated the port, was referred in this story.


In 1436 the King of Naples, Alfonso V of Aragon (known as the magnanimous) granted the uninhabited island to John de Caro, Baron Montechiaro, to thank him for the aid offered on an expedition to the island of Djerba.



The news we are presenting on this page are taken from the book
"A Brief History of Lampedusa" by Nino Taranto (Lampedusa Art Gallery)

All rights in the photographic material and the book
are reserved.