White Almond Sicily

Around the south eastern tip of Sicily a few miles south of Siracusa is one of Sicily's prettiest seaside villages, Marzamemi. A small fishing port renowned for tuna fishing and tuna processing. The Arabs gave the village its name, Marsà al-hamam (meaning the bay of turtle doves) in the 10 th century and built the tonnara (tuna processing plant), which became one of the most important on the island. Although the tonnara is no longer used, Marzamemi continues its artisanal fishing and processing activities, producing all manner of delicacies, including canned tuna, dried tuna roe ( bottarga ), smoked swordfish, marinated anchovies, tuna salamis and much more. The old centre of the village dates back to mid-18th century and is situated around the picturesque Piazza Regina Margherita. There is a little fishing harbour full of colourful wooden boats, the Church of San Francesco di Paola, the tonnara , restaurants and bars all adorned with brightly coloured ...