Ponza

Ponza, located off the west coast of central Italy, gets plenty of summer vacationers from Rome. Despite filling up with so many Italians in warmer months,

Ponza sees few foreigners. Its two main towns are the port of Ponza, with its various pastel-hued buildings, and La Pianna, a village on a ridge high above the water.

Tavolara

This three-mile-long sliver of land, just off the northwest coast of Sardinia and reachable by ferry, is the most unusual island on this list.  It proclaimed itself a kingdom in the late-1800s and was recognized as such by the onetime King of Sardinia.

Aeolian Islands

Some consider these 7 islands off the northeast coast of Sicily to be the loveliest of all the Italian islands, and they may well be ones that you’ve heard of.  They range from dry Panarea to green, vine-studded Salina Island.

Maddalena Islands

The seven Maddalena Islands are located just off the northeast corner of Sardinia. Except the namesake island, Maddalena, most of them feel rugged and remote with quiet coves overlooking turquoise water — and hardly a soul in sight.

Carpaia

Italian brochures bill Capraia as Italy’s isola selvaggia, its wild island.  It’s the farthest north of the islands on this list, located just off the northern tip of French island Corsica. Capraia has only 300 full-time residents, and most of the five-mile-long island is in fact protected national park.

Pantelleria

This little island in the strait between Sicily and Tunisia houses the villas of such chic Italians as Giorgio Armani, as well as a boutique, luxury resorts.  Pantelleria is a pretty new volcanic island, geologically speaking, and as such doesn’t have white-sand beaches.