Coming here feels like going back in time. At a time when the Internet and globalization do not exist. Few people have heard of Marettimo, from my point of view perhaps the most beautiful island in Italy.

It's easy to actually forget about time here. As long as you show up on the diving boat at 9.30 in the morning, the days just float by. And this is what you do when you are staying on the island. You go out the whole day in a boat, diving or fishing. After you get on that boat you totally forget to look at your watch for the rest of the day. Fabio, who was our boat owner and diving leader, was a really cool, relaxed and funny man. I felt welcome from the first minute.

Every day on this small island starts with digesting delicious fresh stone fruit like figs, nectarines, plums, apricots, peaches ... Unbelievably sweet and juicy. Or a granita, with lemon, pomegranate or mulberry taste. Certainly with a warm soft brioche by the side.

Fresh ripe fruit hardly tastes better than in Sicily, and I have to admit that granita and brioche is my favorite breakfast on a warm summer morning on this island. No words. If you haven’t tried it, you definitely missed something.

At Marettimo you eat well. Especially if you are into fish. The specialty here is tuna fish. The restaurants offers tuna and other fish in all varieties and forms. Every day fresh, straight from the sea. Simple and really good.

Marettimo is one of the Aegean islands in the Mediterranean west of Sicily. It has around 300 inhabitants in the winter and 700 in the summer, and the locals live mainly from fishing, tourism and traditional crafts.

There is a rich flora on the island, and many of the plants are very rare and among the most endangered. The name Marettimo probably comes from the words mar (sea) and timo (thyme) due to the profusion of thyme on the island.

I often dream of going back to Marettimo. It is rare to find places like this. If you need to disconnect from the outside world, this is definitely the place. Free of hotels, souvenir shops, cars (almost), large loud family groups and snobbery. If I had to describe Marettimo in one word, it must be simplicity.

Here you are definitely living a “vita lente“. A slow life.