Lampedusa

13 Beautiful Italian Islands — From Popular Hot Spots to Underrated Gems

"Closer to the coast of Tunisia than Sicily, the tiny southern island of Lampedusa isn't exactly off the radar. But it's out-of-the-way location — reachable via a short flight or fairly long ferry ride — has kept it from being overrun, even in the high season. The island is famous for Spiaggia dei Conigli (Rabbit Beach), a crescent-shaped stretch with clear water, but there are a handful of other beaches and coves worth exploring, too." - Travel + Leisure Editors

After a two-hour flight, Tucci lands in Lampedusa, the tiny Sicilian island that has become the center of the Mediterranean migrant crisis. Here he meets fisherman Beppe, who tells a harrowing tale of an overturned migrant ship. The “open arms” policy of Lampedusa earned the island a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2014. At the home of Beppe and his wife Rina, Tucci dines on sarde a beccafico, the poor man’s attempt at recreating a stuffed poultry dish made with the beccafico (garden warbler). Sarde a Beccafico has many different versions depending on in which city in Sicily it is made.