Marettimo is the most distant and isolated of the Egadi Islands, with a history of its own, also from a geological and naturalistic point of view, compared to the other islands of the archipelago. Mountainous and wild, in fact, it broke away from the mainland several millennia before the other two. Its high and rocky coasts form the caves, about four hundred worthy of note, both on the surface and in depth, reachable only from the sea, and offer to the visitor's gaze depths of indescribable beauty, which can be accessed almost exclusively by means of boats.

The island takes its current name from the sea that surrounds it and from the thyme: the mountain smells of the thyme it is covered with, and majestically overlooks the town that lies at its feet. The landing takes place at the Scalo Nuovo, and you immediately feel the majestic role of the impending mountain. In any case, the Scalo Vecchio, on the opposite side, is the true fishing port of Marettimo, from which you can see Punta Troia, which juts out over the sea with its Castle built in the 9th century by the Saracens and subsequently brought as it is today by the Spaniards.

Leaving the town, following a mule track that climbs up the mountain among the Mediterranean vegetation, we arrive at the archaeological site of the “Roman Houses”. Here are the remains of a Roman building and a temple dating back to the early centuries of the Christian era, evidence of the presence of the Romans on the island. Nearby is the Byzantine church dedicated to the cult of St. Basil, probably from the 11th century, characterized by a contracted Greek cross plan.