on the island. The critically endangered monk seal had a breeding colony here until the 1960s. Once the home of a thriving lobster industry, Tavolara now attracts divers who come to view the coral, sponges, sea anemones, bottlenose dolphins, and even a few specimens of Pinna nobilis, the rare giant clam whose byssus fibers were formerly used in the manufacture of sea silk for royal garments. History The island was known in ancient times as Hermea. According to tradition, Pope St. Pontian died on Tavolara following his abdication and exile in 235. It is probably the island previously called Tolar, which was used by some Arab ships in 848–849 as a base to attack nearby coasts. Joachim Murat visited Tavolara in 1815 during his attempt to regain the Kingdom of Naples. At that time the island was uninhabited. In 1836 the imaginary kingdom of Tavolara was given to the Bertoleoni family by Charles Albert the King of Sardinia. After Italian unification, “King Paolo” actively sought recognition from Italy. During his “reign”, in 1868 the Italian government began operating a lighthouse on the northeast end of the island. The tomb of one of its members “Paolo I” is in the graveyard on the island, surmounted by a crown. VLF- Antenna The VLF-antenna of Tavolara VLF transmitter is spun between a 133-metre-tall mast at on Spalmatore di Fuori and 4 masts, which are situated on mountains southwards. They are situated at , at , at and at The two masts on the eastern mountain are tall, the two others are smaller. In popular culture Tavolara is the name given to a fictional island in the Philippines ruled by a cannibal king, in the 1902 Harvard comic opera "Queen Philippine." See also List of islands of Italy Kingdom of Tavolara References United States Hydrographic Office, Great Britain Hydrographic Office, Great Britain Admiralty, United States Navy Dept (1917), Mediterranean Pilot, v. 2, p. 416-417 External links CGI simulated aerial video of Tavolara Tavolara and Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Preserve Tavolara Film Festival Islands of Sardinia