Sapientza Island

Sapientza is located on a maritime route that had great commercial interest since antiquity, connecting Italy with the Middle East. At the same time, it was a difficult area, full of strong sea currents, powerful winds, and difficult rocks. As a result, several shipwrecks occurred on the coasts and off the island, some of which are considered important from an archaeological point of view. One of the most famous among them is the ship that (we believe) was transporting the columns from the large peristyle built by Herod in Caesarea of Palestine (1st century AD). Nowadays, it is known as the "shipwreck of the columns" and has been located at a depth of 10 meters, near Cape Spitha.

It is famous for the arbutus forest, which is unique in Europe as the trees there reach a height of 10-12 meters. In the center of the island is an area called "Spartolakka", where the soil is formed by fossilized pollen.

The importance of Sapientza for shipping routes continued to be great during the 19th century, when it was decided to enlist the technological progress of the time to address the issue of frequent shipwrecks in its sea area. In 1885, following an important request from Queen Victoria of England, an 8-meter high lighthouse was built at the southern point of the island, which for its time was one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean: its mirrors were illuminated by asbestos lamps and the luminosity reached 25 nautical miles.

Beyond Sapientza, in the open waters stretching 6 nautical miles southwest of it, lies the deepest point of the entire Mediterranean: it is called the "Well of Oinousses" or Calypso Deep and is estimated to descend to 5,269 meters – with the old measurements verified in 2020, thanks to an expedition that included Prince Albert II of Monaco (who reached the bottom in a submersible). In fact, the underwater telescope "Nestor" has been installed in the Deep, searching for neutrinos in our effort to collect information about the distant past (and future) of the planet. The reason for this is that such depths are considered free from cosmic radiation.

The only way to access Sapientza is by speedboat from Methoni. In Methoni, the boat AMMOS will be waiting for you, with which in the summer months you can visit Sapientza and swim in the crystal-clear waters of Ammos beach.