Santo Stefano (island)

This article is about the island in the Strait of Bonifacio. For the island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, see Santo Stefano Island.

File:San-Stefano-From-Palau.jpg

View of Santo Stefano from Palau.

Santo Stefano is an island in the Maddalena archipelago of northern Sardinia, Italy, and part of the Maddalena National Park. It is largely uninhabited and it is mainly known for its hosting of a NATO Naval Base and Italian Navy munitions magazines Apart from the military, the only residences on the island is a tourist resort, Club valtur, which is largely occupied only during the summer months. Public access to the island is made by ferry either from La Maddalena or nearby Palau, on Sardinia.

The submarine tender USS Emory S. Land at Santo Stefano, Italy.

In 1987, the United States Navy was issued an executive eviction, which called for abandonment of the island and its return to a national park. However, in 2004, the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, despite the pending eviction, gave the U.S Navy the rights to extend the base using part of the natural park surface to build a new wider office building.

The U.S. military is scheduled to leave the region in 2008. USS Emory S. Land left the Italian navy base on September 27, 2007.

The military base on Santo Stefano had been chosen to host the 2009 G8 summit before it was moved to L'Aquila. The water is azure blue. On the island is also a tourist resort, the Valtur Hotel. In the summer of 2009 globalisation activists will meet on Sardinia and organise for peaceful protests. They hope to bring some glamour to the islands.