The Enchanting Archipelago Just Off Positano’s Shore
Visible from almost every vantage point in Positano, the Li Galli Islands form a small, tantalizing archipelago that seems to float on the surface of the Tyrrhenian Sea just a few kilometers offshore. Known also as Le Sirenuse — the Islands of the Sirens — this mythical archipelago off Positano has captivated imaginations for millennia, from ancient Greek sailors who believed the islands were home to the deadly Sirens of Homer’s Odyssey to twentieth-century artists and dancers who sought creative refuge on their rocky shores. Today, Li Galli remains privately owned and largely inaccessible on land, but the islands can be admired from the sea and their story is woven into the very identity of Positano and the Amalfi Coast.
The Mythology of the Sirens
The connection between Li Galli and the Sirens of Greek mythology is ancient and deeply rooted. According to the Odyssey, the Sirens were enchantresses whose irresistible singing lured sailors to their deaths on the rocks. Odysseus, warned by the sorceress Circe, had his crew plug their ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast of his ship so that he could hear the Sirens’ song without succumbing to it.
Ancient Greek and Roman writers, including Strabo, placed the Sirens at these very islands. The name Le Sirenuse persisted for centuries, and one of Positano’s most celebrated luxury hotels still bears the name. Whether or not you believe in mythological enchantresses, there is something undeniably magnetic about these islands. Their silhouettes against the sunset, their isolation in the open sea, and their inaccessibility all contribute to an aura of mystery that has endured for three thousand years.
The legend also connects to the broader mythology of the Costiera Amalfitana, where stories of sea gods, nymphs, and supernatural creatures are woven into the names and histories of virtually every town and promontory along the shore.
Three Islands, Three Characters
The Li Galli archipelago consists of three islands, each with its own character:
Gallo Lungo
The largest of the three islands, Gallo Lungo is elongated and crescent-shaped, resembling a dolphin from certain angles. This is the island with the most human history. It was inhabited in Roman times, and archaeological evidence suggests the presence of a Roman villa. In more recent centuries, it served as a military outpost, and a defensive tower — now incorporated into the main villa — was built in the medieval period.
Gallo Lungo is the island most closely associated with the legendary Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who purchased the entire archipelago in 1988 and spent the final years of his life restoring the villa and gardens. The island changed hands after Nureyev’s death in 1993 and remains privately owned, its terraces planted with Mediterranean vegetation and its buildings maintained in elegant seclusion.
La Rotonda
The smallest of the three, La Rotonda is a roughly circular islet of bare rock. It is uninhabited and largely featureless, but its stark, sculptural form adds to the visual drama of the archipelago, particularly when seen from the sea.
Dei Briganti
Also known as La Castelluccia, the island of Dei Briganti takes its name from the bandits who reportedly used it as a hideout in earlier centuries. Like La Rotonda, it is small and uninhabited, a rough outcrop of limestone rising from the deep blue sea.
Rudolf Nureyev and the Islands’ Artistic Legacy
The Li Galli Islands have attracted a remarkable succession of creative figures. In the 1920s, the Russian choreographer Leonide Massine — one of the leading figures of the Ballets Russes — purchased Gallo Lungo and built a villa where he lived and worked for decades. The island became a gathering place for artists, writers, and intellectuals, and Massine reportedly used the natural amphitheater of the island’s terraces as an open-air dance studio.
After Massine’s death, the islands passed through several hands before being acquired by Nureyev. The great dancer, who had defected from the Soviet Union in 1961 and become one of the most famous performers of the twentieth century, found in Li Galli a private sanctuary at the end of a tumultuous life. He commissioned extensive renovations, brought in architects and garden designers, and spent his final summers on the island before his death in 1993.
This artistic legacy gives the islands a romantic, almost melancholy quality. Standing on the deck of a boat, looking at the villa’s terracotta rooftop and the tower rising above the Mediterranean pines, it is easy to imagine the echoes of music and movement that once filled these isolated shores.
How to See Li Galli
Since the islands are privately owned, landing on them is not permitted without the owner’s invitation. However, the best way to experience Li Galli is from the sea, and several options are available:
Private Boat Tours
Private boat tours from Positano typically include a circuit of the Li Galli Islands as part of a longer coastal itinerary. Boats approach close to the islands, allowing passengers to admire the villa on Gallo Lungo, swim in the deep, crystalline waters around the archipelago, and snorkel over the rocky seabed where marine life is abundant. Some tours combine Li Galli with stops at the Emerald Grotto and the sea caves along the coast between Positano and Amalfi.
Sunset Cruises
From the Shore
Even without a boat, Li Galli is a constant presence in Positano. The islands are visible from the main beach, from the terraces of hillside restaurants, and from the coastal paths above the town. Many of the best photo spots in Positano frame the islands as a focal point, and watching the changing light play across their silhouettes is one of the simple pleasures of spending time in the town.
Swimming and Snorkeling Around Li Galli
The waters surrounding the Li Galli Islands are among the clearest and most marine-rich on the entire Amalfi Coast. The rocky seabed around the islands supports a diverse ecosystem of fish, sea urchins, octopus, and colorful plant life. Snorkeling here is a highlight of any boat trip, and the depth of the water — which drops off quickly from the rocky shoreline — creates vivid contrasts of light and color.
When booking a boat tour, ask whether the itinerary includes a swimming stop at Li Galli. Most operators are happy to anchor in the sheltered area between the islands, giving passengers time to swim and snorkel in relative solitude. Positano Style Limo can help arrange a private boat experience that includes the islands, ensuring a seamless day from your hotel door to the open sea and back.
An Archipelago of Myth and Memory
Li Galli is one of those places that exists on the boundary between the real and the imagined. Its mythology stretches back to the ancient world, its modern history is entwined with the lives of extraordinary artists, and its physical beauty — three small islands rising from impossibly blue water — has an almost dreamlike quality. You cannot walk its paths or explore its villa, but you can circle its shores, swim in its waters, and feel the pull that has drawn people to these rocks for thousands of years. It is, in every sense, one of the treasures of the Amalfi Coast.