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History of Lampedusa

From old nautical charts to the present day: the island’s history told through documents, vintage photographs and films, in six languages.

1436-1843 09.10.2026 From fief to colony: Lampedusa from 1436 to 1843 For four centuries the island belonged to barons and princes who never lived there. Then, in 1843, Ferdinand II’s settlers arrived. Read 1551 09.10.2026 July 1551: Charles V’s fleet is wrecked on Lampedusa Fifteen galleys out of Messina, a sudden storm and a coast with no shelter: the shipwreck that made the island famous in the sixteenth century, and the cannons found at Cala Pisana. Read 1950 09.10.2026 Post-war Lampedusa: the fishermen and the Marshall Plan boats Two photographs from the US National Archives show the island seventy years ago: fish laid out in the sun and a new boat sliding into the sea. Read