Aug 11, 2022

MARZAMEMI AND PACHINO, SICILIAN RED BETWEEN TOMATOES AND BOTTARGA - TOURISM OF THE ROOTS

translated from Italian language with Google

Syracuse - The Libero Municipal Consortium of Syracuse hides two unmissable pearls for those who love to travel. This is the municipality of Pachino and its hamlet Marzamemi, which also served as the location for some episodes of "Il Commissario Montalbano".

Pachino is the town that hosts the cultivation of the homonymous IGP cherry tomato, whose beaches shape the coast for a total of eight kilometers. It is no coincidence that its history is closely linked to the sea.

From the Sicilians to the Phoenicians, passing through the Punic, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese and Angevins, all were peoples linked to the sea.

From its ancient past, some interesting archaeological sites remain today: Grotta Corruggi, Grotta del Fico and Grotta Calafarina inhabited in prehistoric times; the pits for the collection of rainwater; necropolis (oven tombs) and dolmens; basements of huts; a Greek temple (3rd century); and a Roman village (3rd or 4th century).

As for monuments and places of interest, the Scibini Tower, built in 1494 by Count Antonio de Xurtino to stop the robberies of the fiefdom and to counter the raids of Saracen pirates, and the nineteenth-century Palazzo Tasca with its evocative courtyard are to be admired. paved. Many religious architectures: Mother Church of SS. Crucifix (1790), Church of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, Church of San Corrado, Church of San Giuseppe, Church of San Francesco, Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Church of Santi Angeli, Church of Saints Peter and Paul and Church of San Francesco di Paola in Marzamemi. As for Marzamemi, it is a seaside village originally built by the Arabs, not far from the famous "baroque queen" Noto and from the Vendicari Reserve, which houses one of the most important seventeenth-century tuna fisheries in Sicily, recreational landings and wrecks of ancient ships.

The salt pans and the first "Arab casuzze" are also worth seeing in the small village.

The territory of Pachino and Marzamemi is famous for the famous tomato of the same name of the town that it makes common, the true protagonist of the tables of the inhabitants and of the local agricultural economy. Furthermore, the "ribbed" tomato is produced here and, to a small extent, the vine, whose production is dedicated to Nero d'Avola or other DOC wines. Also famous is the local production of red tuna bottarga, which is handcrafted in Marzamemi according to ancient Arab traditions.

All flavors that are worth tasting during the events that represent the local cultural roots, first and foremost the patronal feast of the Madonna Assunta on 15 August. Other unmissable events are the Inverdurata in May and the Feast of the Pressing inside the Antico Palmento -

Noble Wine Museum in August. Participating in these popular events is the best way to discover local traditions, those of an authentic Sicily ready to amaze.

HOW TO GET THERE: The reference airport is that of Catania (84 km), while the railway station is that of Ragusa (40 km). By car from Messina (reached by ferry from Villa San Giovanni): take A20 / E90 from Viale della Libertà and Viale Boccetta, follow A18 and E45 to Noto, exit towards Noto / Polizia Stradale, take SP 19 towards Piazza Vittorio Emanuele in Pachino.

OTHER PLACES TO VISIT: The Vendicari Wildlife Reserve is all to be explored. For those who love the sun and the waves, the Spiaggia dei Due Mari is not to be missed.