Perhaps not everyone knows that visiting the island of San Nicola and passing both the abbey of Santa Maria al Mare and the last defensive outpost (the tower of the knights of San Nicolò), a wide plain opens up which hides a secret and one of the most fascinating attractions of the Tremiti islands.
The plain is called Prato Asinaro, due to its ancient grazing function for the donkeys used on the island for the transport of goods.
Crossing it and passing a tub and a trough, you reach an extraordinary Greco-Roman necropolis that can even be traced back to the first Greek settlers of the 9th century BC.
The tombs here are pits dug into the rock, short and narrow since the deceased was buried sideways and in a crouched position, usually facing where the sun rises.
And in a central position with respect to the rest of the necropolis, one can be amazed by a further surprise: it is a cave with a very low arch, created by digging into an enormous rock and which has an entrance facing north.
Well, according to legends and some scholars, this should be none other than the tomb of Diomedes, son of Tydeus and Deipyle and one of the main heroes of the Trojan War! This is why the Tremiti islands traditionally took the name of "Insulae Diomedeae".
If you want to know more about the Roman history of the Tremiti or if you want to find out more about Diomede, here are two insights.
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