The foundations of some 300 stone-built houses were discovered, and the defensive walls of the settlement are among the strongest fortifications of any period known in Italy.

In ancient Greece, the Island was named Osteodes (ossuary) in memory of the thousands of Carthaginian mutineers left there to die of hunger in the 4th century BC.

[4] In the 6th century, a Benedictine community settled in the island, but was soon forced to move because of ongoing wars between Europeans and Arabs.

Many of these families settled in New Orleans and surrounding areas, where there are today thousands of descendants whose ties remain strong to Ustica.

[6] On 27 June 1980, Itavia Flight 870 crashed into the sea off the island while en route to Palermo, killing all 81 people on board.

It showcases organized urban planning with huts and narrow roadways along its northern periphery, representing a well-preserved example of ancient Mediterranean civilization between 1400 and 1200 BC.

Using non-invasive techniques such as ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography, researchers identified an 820-foot-long arc-shaped stone wall, standing 13 to 16 feet tall.