Page 8 - Mediterraneo e dintorni - nr 14

UStiCa. which the color of its coast is identified. ti e criminali. Nel ventennio fa-
SMaLL, BLaCk, aMaZiNG However the settlements on the island scista, per ospitare i confinati del
were earlier than the Roman era, and regime, l’isola fu utilizzata quale
ocated north of Palermo, thirty-fi- there are many archaeological remains
Lve miles from the coast, Ustica is from the prehistoric era dating back to the carcere a cielo aperto e annoverò
certainly one of the small pearls of that Middle Bronze Age. Its recent history, tra i detenuti Antonio Gramsci,
casket called Sicily. Today with the archi- experienced periods of neglect such as figura di spicco del pensiero po-
pelagos of the Egadi, Aeolian, Pelagian the moment that saw it as a place of con- litico italiano, che vi dimorò per
and other smaller islands, it is one of the finement for dissidents and criminals. In quarantaquattro giorni. Ad ad-
most interesting centers of tourist at- the Fascist period, to house the regime’s dolcire l’umiliante condizione di
traction in the Mediterranean, connected confinements, the island was used as an
by hydrofoil and ferry. The name is linked open-air prison and included among the esiliato fu il meraviglioso paesag-
to its volcanic origin and handed down prisoners Antonio Gramsci, a leading gio dell’isola di cui egli scrive: «È
from the Latin ustum (burned) with figure in Italian political thought, who impossibile immaginare la vita di
Ustica, l’ambiente di Ustica, per-

ph Valeria di Chiara

Mediterraneo e dintorni - 6 ph Giovanni Laganà ph Giovanni Laganà