Marzamemi ... the prettiest seaside village in 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 10th 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 geraniums which makes Marzamemi postcard perfect. Narrow alleys lead off the main piazza, offering glimpses of the shimmering blue sea.

Marzamemi is worth visiting at any time of year, but it really comes into its own in the summer months. It has a balmy nocturnal al fresco atmosphere with open-air bars, excellent seafront fish restaurants and as night falls it is taken over by live bands and DJs who provide entertainment for anyone in a dancing mood, creating a chilled out bohemian Ibizan style vibe. It is also the perfect place to stop for a lazy lunch.
At heart Marzamemi remains a working fishing village, complete with fishing nets drying in the Sicilian sun.
A visit to the Adelfio store is a must, the family Adelfio have from 1931 kept alive the ancient tradition of conservation of fish according to age old methods of smoking and salting as was once used by the Arabs and Ancient Greeks. At their store you can buy a wide range of tuna, swordfish, bluefish and rare delicacies. They are very friendly and helpful and insist that you taste before you buy, even our dog Daisy was given a sample to taste and their tuna got the paws up from her.
The restaurants in Marzamemi are to die for ranging from dishes using the towns canned tuna to other dishes such as spaghetti with mullet, swordfish carpaccio and dozens of seafood recipes where the scent of the sea turns into a unique pleasure for the palate.
Another must do is a boat tour, try the glass bottomed boat which heads for some Roman columns on the seabed. 
Listed among the ten best beaches of Sicily, Marzamemi Beach offers super fine sugary sand and crystal clear sea.
Nearby is the town of Pachino, whilst it is mostly known for its cultivation of delicious tomatoes it was here in July 1943 that the Allied invasion of Sicily took place. General Montgomery of The British 8th Army together with US general Patton landed on the beaches between Pachino and neighbouring town of Pozzallo taking Sicily in just 48 days.

Marzamemi is a perfect addition to a day trip to the south eastern corner of Sicily and is easy to combine with a trip to Siracusa or Noto.

I can never resist a detour to this charming little fishing village and for some reason it is full of the most cutest friendly local cats.

I don't know why do you? 🐟

We stayed for One Night at the Beautiful
B&B Marzamemi
www.marzamemibb.it
Click here for my Review
https://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2015/06/b-marzamemi.html

Photo Gallery





































Thank you for following me at
White Almond Sicily Blogspot

As featured in
"My Lemon Grove Summer"
by Jo Thomas

For NEW Blog updates and all things Sicilian

I am also a contributor to www.timesofsicily.com

for Travel Tips, Travel  Advice and Recommendations

Love Sarah x
🐟🐟🐟

Popular posts from this blog

Forza d'Agro

Image
In the Godfather Part I, when Michael Corleone (Al  Pacino) and his two bodyguards are walking in the hills, they see a picturesque village in the distance, they point and remark “Corleone”. The town in the distance is in fact Forza d' Agro a short drive from Taormina. Forza d’Agro is an ancient hill-top town and is a warren of narrow streets and tiny houses leading up to a ruined Norman castle. Most of the stone paved lanes here are impassable by cars. The town was also used as a filming location for The Godfather Part II and III. In the opening scene of The Godfather Part II, following the assassination of young Vito Corleone’s father, the funeral procession was shot in the dry riverbed below Forza d’Agro, Michael’s older brother is assassinated in this scene after being found hiding in the hills. Following this his mother is also brutally murdered, and so being the only surviving male, Vito Corleone must escape Sicily and with the help of local residents he c
Read more

Ripley … Sicilian Filming Locations

Image
The Talented Mr Ripley is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. The novel introduced the character of Tom Ripley, who returns in four subsequent novels. It has been adapted numerous times for screen including in 1999 starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gywneth Paltrow. This year it came to our screens on Netflix as "Ripley" starring Andrew Scott. Tom Ripley is a young man struggling to make a living in New York City by whatever means necessary including small time confidence scams. One day he is approached by shipping magnate Herbert Greenleaf to travel to "Mongibello" (based on the resort town Positano) in Italy to persuade his son Dickie, a spoilt playboy, to return to the USA and join the family business. Ripley agrees and exaggerates his friendship with Dickie in order to gain Mr Greenleaf's trust. Shortly after his arrival in Italy, Ripley contrives to meet Dickie and his girlfriend Marge on a beach. Dickie allows Ripley to stay with him
Read more

25 Sicilian Myths and Legends

Image
Sicily is a place full of myths and legends and there are many stories associated with the island. From the stories of nymphs and gods from Greek and Roman mythology to tragic love stories from an exotic era when the island was under Arabic, Norman and Spanish rule. Some stories have happy endings and some not so happy endings.  What is a legend? Legends are stories which are thought to be based on true events but have developed fictional elements that have deep significance to the culture from which they originate. For example historians claim that King Arthur really existed but his existence is shrouded in different legends, such as is his final resting place on Mount Etna?  What is a myth? Myths are stories derived from cultural traditions or legends most of which have a deep symbolic meaning and usually involve a lesson that will be helpful to the listener or reader. Mythical characters are often non-human in some form or related to a god or supernatural being, often set in ancient
Read more