7 June 2021

After 2 years we came back to Ventotene. I arrived alone and this, maybe, made especially touching my approach to this islet, which rises softly, but inevitably, from the sea, from Punta Eolo to Punta dell’Arco.

During the trip, off the coast of Gaeta a couple of shearwaters greeted the departure from the mainland. Thanks to the multi-taxonomic adventures with my collegues ornitologist, I recognize them.

The silver of Artemisia arborescens and Jacobaea maritima and many small colourful passerines welcomed my arrival in Ventotene, while I walked in the Municipality Garden, waiting for the return of my colleagues from Santo Stefano. I saw them coming back and joined them for the field survey in the afternoon.

The botanists of PonDerat worked hard, day and night. We finish the monitoring on time and have extra time for a nice exploration of Punta dell'Arco, which I have not visited for quite a while. The scrub with Euphorbia dendroides (habitat 5330) and its wonderful blooms accompanied our walk and showed how much this habitat changed over the last 6 years. In some points the maquis with Euphorbia is well structured and let us imagine how the island slopes could appear in a few years. On the other hand, in other areas we realized the great expansion of Ailanthus altissima from the two populations present until 2015. Something should be done to manage this threatening invasion!