"The biodiversity of Lake Venus (also called Mirror of Venus)"

Lake Pantelleria is an open-air biology laboratory. In the very particular ecosystem created over the millennia by sedimentary structures (stromatolites), of biological origin that are formed by the action of cyanobacteria (photosynthetic bacteria) which lay new colonies on top of the previous ones through a continuous process that led to the formation of the lake's coasts.

In the very particular ecosystem created over the millennia by these microorganisms, a community of high naturalistic value has settled as the home of unique endemisms at a national and international level.

The lake, due to its position along the main African-European migration routes, in spring and autumn becomes a natural observation point for migratory avifauna, which finds a resting and foraging station there, represented by the many organisms that live in its waters.

The hydrothermal springs of the lake are characteristic for the presence of communities of microorganisms and Pantelleria is one of the very rare locations in the world with siliceous stromatolites. Other discovery sites are Yellowstone (Wyoming, USA) and Bahía Concepción (Baja California Sur, Mexico).

For these reasons, walking along the coasts of the "Specchio i Venere" or "Bagno dell'Acqua" or immersing yourself in its waters represents a double journey in time and space.

It is a journey through time because, despite having formed in geologically recent times, it represents the snapshot of an ancient and archaic landscape, when multicellular organisms had not yet developed.

It is also a journey into space as the ecosystem of Lake Pantelleria is such that it can represent a natural laboratory of exobiology, a branch of biology that studies the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

(from an article by Andrea Biddittu)