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

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