Marettimo Blues

The blues of the island of Marettimo off the western coast of Sicily – one of the three Egadi islands (along with Levanzo and Favignana) – seem to harmoniously run together.

In the one island village – only three hundred permanent residents here (though over seven hundred in the summers) – sky-blue doors and window frames on the white-stucco houses in narrow alleyways mimic the palette of the cobalt blue sky above. Fucsia bougainvillea adds color splashes here and there.

The many blues of Marettimo

Blue doors in alleyways where fishermen untangle their nets

Blue windows, bright blue doors of Marettimo

Fucsia bougainvillea here and there

Marettimo blues

The sea lapping the rocky shore of Marettimo blends into the symphony in blue, blue tones varying, depending on where you are on the island. And the cheery bright blues of the fishing boats bobbing in the harbor match the Marettimo waters.

Colors of the sea vary depending on where you are on the island

Take a boat ride around Marettimo with Pietro – or any of the other boatmen (most of them, fishermen as well) offering visitors a four-hour giro dell’isola (tour around the island) – and you’ll dip into all the chromatic variations. Teal, turquoise, aquamarine, midnight blues, too.

Pietro, captain of our boat

The best way to see Marettimo sea colors: on a boat ride round the island

Put on mask and snorkel and you can you can “dip” literally. Inspite of a slightly mare mosso (“rough sea”), Pietro pulled into a couple peaceful coves where our group could dive in for swims. Towering above one of the coves, precariously balanced on a cliff plunging to the Mediterranean, the 18th century Bourbon French fortress – later, a prison – belies the serenity of Marettimo today.