Portopalo di Capo Passero

The territory that today includes Portopalo is one of the oldest in the province of Siracusa.

The village has been named in various ways: initially Capo Pachino, later Terra Nobile and finally Porto Palo. The founder of Portopalo is Don Gaetano Deodato Moncada, who has been interested in its building since 1778 and that in 1792 built a hundred houses around the tonnara at his expense. The first urban nucleus consisted of about 300 people, including peasants, shepherds and fishermen.

It is a predominantly agricultural and seafaring center and bases on these activities its economic fortunes. The village is bathed by the two seas: the Ionian and the Mediterranean.

The main feature of this village is the lighthouse that rises above the upper area of the town called “Cozzo Spadaro”. The light of this lighthouse at night is visible even from all the cities and coastal districts in the southern area of the Province of Siracusa (from the Maddalena Peninsula up to Portopalo).

The city of Portopalo boasts a large port terminal equipped for docking large fishing vessels; next to this large port there is the seat of an active fish market. The territory is full of magnificent beaches and in some points the coast becomes really beautiful.