Mondello, the beach near Palermo.

photo Jan-Luc Moreau

The most popular place for walks of people from Palermo, what is considered the "Square of Palermo" for the summer, the bathing place of excellence, the place to eat ice cream, and boiled octopus or bread and panelle is Mondello.

Mondello (a few kilometers from Palermo) was originally a fishing village,

nestled in a beautiful bay delineated by a white beach and the blue sea.

In 1891 the area, first marshland, was reclaimed , and they began a work of colonization and the building, due also to an Italian-Belgian company which took the entire concession area. Were built in the early '900 villas in Liberty style ,

and a huge " establishment bathing" that became the summer destination for the most privileged of Palermo.

Mondello today is a busy place, full of restaurants and paninerie, ice cream shops, kiosks, shops etc.. In summer you play sports and musical events.

The beach in the spring or early summer is wonderful, during the summer becomes crowded, because in large part is occupied by "bathing boxes" of wood colored with white and blue.

Is a place of aggregation for the younger ones that especially when approaching the summer season don't go to the school.

What makes Mondello very special, apart the beach and the sea, is the beautiful port with its colorful boats,

pines and palms that adorn the waterfront,

but also the architecture of the villas

(including the infamous and uninhabited villa "bewitched" that nobody would dare to go inside), which gives a special charm to this place that really deserves a visit.

And then at the end of Mondello, there is Chief Gallo is a natural reserve of great beauty ... but this is a new topic ....

Scopello, beautiful sea

When the sun is warm and the sky incredibly blue, starts "the desire of the sea".

I will tell about a wonderful place, that in addition to its natural beauty, it contains in itself also an inexplicable sense of mystery.

Its name is Scopello, is located in the province of Trapani between Castellammare del Golfo and San Vito Lo Capo, one hour away from Palermo.

The courtyard of Scopello is located on a cliff showing a breathtaking view over the sea where there are two rocks that give the name to Scopello, in greek Skopelos means just rocks, and perhaps the Arabs gave to the town the nickname of Iscubul (rock). The small courtyard is formed by a few stone houses and a “Gebbia” (drinking). The atmosphere is serene, pleasant, air wafts a mild smell of sheep's milk.

Above the rocks there is the Torre bennistra of the sixteenth century and the ruins of a Saracen tower.

Higher up the wood of Scopello, which was one of the estates of Ferdinand III of Bourbon.

To add more charm to the place there is the old "tonnara" now disused, which maintains the structures of the past, and stands where once stood the ancient city of Cetaria (city of tuna), which disappeared along with his tonnara, which was then reconstructed by the Arabs.

What makes this place special is the rocky coastline, broken by the bay pebble Guidaloca by an "emerald sea", not far away the beautiful rocks emerging by a crystal clear water and seem to have been placed there by the hand of a giant mythological.

Near Scopello is the reserve of Zingaro, which is a charming place to walk in nature with a beautiful view and the possibility to reach the beautiful bays where you can have a pleasant swim.Of note for the greedy ones, that in this whole area they can eat very well, and above all can taste the fish cus cus.

Until about fifteen years ago, Scopello was still inhabited by a few people in the place, and there were not tourists, I can still remember the pleasant feeling proven, the smells and the taste special to me, a little strange, who had the cream of my giant ice cream cone, due to the milk just milked. Now tourism has grown, there are restaurants and little hotels, but has not transformed the atmosphere of simplicity and serenity that you can still breathe.