There are no hotels, but islanders open up their simple, gaily painted homes to those seeking relaxed rhythms. No banks either, but there's not a lot money can buy here. The sole souvenir shop has a few knickknacks. Costs are modest for meals made from local ingredients — lentils, eggplant, peppers perhaps, plus the catch of the day from the emerald-hued, pristine waters surrounding tiny Linosa island.

But stunning natural beauty is free and abundant on this verdant paradise that rises up in the form of an extinct volcano from the Mediterranean seabed. Of the many splendid small Italian islands that dot the Mediterranean waters near Sicily, only Linosa had eluded me, vacation after vacation, perhaps because it takes some determination to get here. Unlike some other islands, like Pantelleria, where Italian VIPs keep summer homes, or Lampedusa, known for lively nightlife, there are no flights from the Italian peninsula, no airport.