Cyclops Islands
| Cyclops Islands | ||
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| Waters | Ionian sea | |
| Geographical location | 37 ° 34 ' N , 15 ° 10' E | |
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| Number of islands | 3 and some rocks | |
| Main island | Lachea | |
| Total land area | 0.03 km² | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
The Cyclops Islands ( Italian: Isole dei Ciclopi ) are a small group of islands in the Ionian Sea . They are located off the east coast of Sicily in the Aci Trezza district of the municipality of Aci Castello . The archipelago includes the islands of Lachea (the largest of the group), Faraglione Grande ( Faraglione di Santa Maria ), Faraglione di Mezzo and Faraglione degli Uccelli , as well as some rocks. Lachea is about 70 m high and has a circumference of 700 meters.
The name Cyclops Islands refers to Greek mythology : Polyphemus , one of the gigantic Cyclops , captured Odysseus and twelve of his companions in order to feed on their flesh. After Odysseus had managed to deceive the giant with a cunning play on words, to blind him together with his six surviving companions by force and to flee, the giant threw several boulders after him, which fell into the sea near the mainland coast. According to the story, this is how this group of islands came about.
The islands are of volcanic origin and formed around 500,000 years ago when basaltic lava erupted on the seabed. Lachea was settled in prehistoric times , and in Greco - Roman times it was used as a necropolis for the inhabitants of the mainland.
Today, the islands form because of the multiple underwater flora , the marine reserve Riserva naturale marina Isole Ciclopi that the CUTGANA, a facility of the University of Catania is managed.
Picture gallery
The main island of Lachea
Partial view of the Cyclops Islands
Faraglione grande
Faraglione medio
Faraglioni Aci Trezza, the basalt columns can be clearly seen
Faraglioni Aci Trezza, smaller rocks in the south of the archipelago
Web links
- Description of the nature reserve ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- The natural reserve "Lachea Isle and Cyclop Rocks" , tourism website of the metropolitan city of Catania (Italian / English)
- Site of the management of the nature reserve (Italian)
- Presentation of the islands on the website of the research center CUTGANA at the University of Catania (Italian)