PORTOPALO DI CAPO PASSERO

Portopalo di Capo Passero is a town of about 3,200 inhabitants located in the Siracusa province. It gained administrative autonomy in 1975, up to then being a division of

neighboring Pachino. The town began to develop in the early 19^th century. It earned its place in history for having been the landing point for Anglo-American troops on 10 July 1943. Farming and fishing are the town’s main industries; tourism has also been growing remarkably in the last decades much relying on the cultural and naturalistic riches of the area.

The 1800’s Chiesa di San Gaetano is the most attractive building. The shore is endowed with beautiful sand beaches; in the main one relics from a 3^rd century BC necropolis and an ancient harbor structure were unearthed. Relics from kilns and Paleo-christian necropolises were discovered at the Manniri district.

A short way offshore lies the Island of Capo Passero with its luxuriant and rare vegetation and wildlife, landmarked by a 1600’s tower – built at Charles V’s behest to defend the coast – and a lighthouse. Nor far from town is the Capo delle Correnti, the southernmost headland of Sicily, that stretches off to the Isola delle Correnti.

The coast north of the town offers other attractions, notably the Tonnara (tuna-fishery), the ruins of the Torre Fano and the Grotta Calafarina boasting a historical-archaeological value as it was inhabited from the Neolithic to the Bronze age.