Li Galli Islands (viewpoint from Positano)
Four kilometres south-west of Positano, three small islands sit on the water like punctuation at the end of a sentence. The largest, Gallo Lungo, is roughly four hundred metres long and, from above, traces the outline of a dolphin. You can't land on any of them — the whole archipelago is private — but that distance is part of the point. You watch them from the sea, circling slowly by gozzo or rubber dinghy, and the not-landing gives you time to look properly.
Strabo called them the Sirenussai in the first century BC, the headquarters of the sirens. The name stuck in different forms for two thousand years, until someone noticed the shape of the largest island and the islands became Li Galli — the roosters.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who've done the boat circuit more than once tend to go in June or September, when the water is clear and the tour groups thin out. A morning departure from Positano lets you catch the light on the Aragonese tower before it flattens. Bring a mask — the snorkelling inside the Punta Campanella marine protected area is genuinely worth the stop.
The story behind Li Galli Islands (viewpoint from Positano)
Frederick II of Swabia donated the three islands to the Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria of Positano in 1225, describing them as 'tres Sirenas quae dicitur Gallus.' They passed through various hands over the following centuries, acquiring an Aragonese tower built in the fifteenth century to guard against Saracen raids. A rabbit farm attempted in 1848 lasted until a storm destroyed it in 1873.
The islands' modern character arrived with Leonide Massine, the Russian choreographer who purchased Gallo Lungo in 1919 and converted the old tower into a residence with a dance studio and an open-air theatre modelled on the ancient theatre of Syracuse. In 1924 he enlisted Le Corbusier to design a villa on the site of the original Roman structure. Rudolf Nureyev bought the islands in 1988 and spent the last years of his life there before his death in 1993. The current owner, Sorrento hotelier Giovanni Russo, restored the estate in the early 2000s; it now operates as a seven-suite private villa available for just three weeks each season.
Good to know
Book a group boat tour or rent a gozzo from Positano's beach; the crossing takes under thirty minutes. June and September offer the best combination of calm seas and lighter crowds. You cannot disembark. Check marine forecasts before you go — winds here have sunk ships for centuries.
May through October is the window for boat access, with June and September the steadiest months — long sunny days, water warm enough to swim, and none of the peak-summer congestion. July and August regularly push above 30°C on the water. From November through April, rain and low cloud make the crossing unpredictable and the marine protected area less forgiving.
Where is Li Galli Islands (viewpoint from Positano)?
Location
- In Positano
- 40.6195, 14.4620
- Open in Google Maps
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