About one nautical mile from Ventotene Island, to which it administratively belongs, and almost aligned on the south with Ischia, the small island covers an area of approximately 29 hectares and has a 1,840-metre-long coastline. The profile of this island of the Archipelago of the Pontine Islands is defined by the imposing prison (a former life-sentence state prison) built during the Bourbon rule in 1795 from designs by Francesco Carpi and in use until 1965. The prison can be visited only with a guide.
You can reach the island by small boats moored in the port of Ventotene. The only sheltered landing place is the one at Marinella. Sailing west you can stop at Il Burrone or Morrone, Punta dei Sospiri and the Vasca Giulia. Tradition holds that Vasca Giulia, a natural pool in the sea rocks, was where Octavian’s daughter would bathe during their exile. Punta Spasaro leads in to another landing place, Il Porticciolo.
The integrity of the land and sea environments is guaranteed by the State Nature Reserve and the Protected Marine Area of Ventotene and Santo Stefano Islands.