A Trip to Sicily: Marzamemi

Marzamemi is a sea town about 54 km south of Siracusa and 20 km from Noto. It is well known for its tuna fishing history, and is also regarded as one of the most beautiful 20 sea towns of Italy.

The town is surrounded by the deep blue Mediterranean sea, with bright red, blue and yellow fish boats dotted in the ocean. The old tuna fishery Tonnara is the center of the town, which is composed of old buildings including the residence of the fishery owner (the palace), the church and the fisheries. The center of Tonnara is the main Piazza Regina Margherita. There are also many more humble sandstone houses for the fishermen in the surrounding areas, connected by the narrow alleys.

The piazza is typical Sicilian, square-shaped, decorated with bright colored ceramic flower pots, with people gathering chatting, kids playing football. It felt that time somehow has stopped for the moment.  What we were doing and experiencing was the same for centuries. Nothing around us reminded us of the fast-paced society we live in now. People were talking to each other instead of checking their phones constantly; kids were running and playing instead of gluing to computers. It seems that the ancient buildings and the salty sea air have calmed us down and allowed us to just enjoy the moment: nothing else to do, nowhere else to go. We finally understood what ‘Il Dolce Far Niente (the sweetness of doing nothing)’ means.

Marzamemi has been through a revival for the past twenty years. The Tonnara has been painstakingly restored and turned into an event place. For the past seventeen years, Marzamemi hosts an international film festival in the summer to celebrate independent films around the world. The films are shown open air. During the festival, there are also interesting exhibitions, workshops and, even better, food events.

One of the main attractions of the town is the tasty fish dishes served by the picturesque restaurants. We stopped at Liccamúciula, a restaurant and concept store. It is located in a beautiful old building with an arching ceiling, and you can have a drink here while glancing through the books, organic local produces and craft gifts .

We had our lunch at Taverna La Cialoma, a Michelin recommended restaurant. The food was typical Marzamemi, with fresh seafood and tasted amazing. We sat under the blue sky in the bright sunshine, enjoyed a bottle of dry Sicilian white and felt that life couldn’t have been better.