EXPLORE THE TERRITORY WITH KIND OF BLUE
At the sea: snorkeling and open water swimming, diving, boat trips, fishing tourism.
On land: trekking with guides and environmental experts in the peninsula
of Maddalena,
in the Iblei Mountains,
to the necropolis of Pantalica,
in Etna Park;
bicycle and e-bike tours, customized wine and food tours,
tasting of typical specialties.
In town: tours of monuments,
of artisan workshops
and the Ortigia market;
tours of the park and archaeological museum with professional guides.
At home : Sicilian cooking lessons: pasta alla Norma, caponata, rolls
and eggplant parmigiana
with no more secrets.
BY BOAT: TO MANIACE CASTLE AND ORTIGIA
The Plemmirio marine protected area
Established 20 years ago, it studies, enhances and protects the biodiversity of marine, coastal and terrestrial environments. And it promotes local knowledge and environmental education through educational and outreach activities.
It embraces the Maddalena peninsula, which stretches a few kilometers south of the city of Siracusa, just outside the large harbor, the largest in the Mediterranean: from Punta della Mola to Punta Milocca, passing Cape Murro di Porco. The marine park, established in 2004, has an extension of 2429 hectares, the peninsula a coastal development of about 10 km.
There are numerous Hellenic and Roman settlements, such as the syloi, constructions located at the north end of the Magdalena Peninsula and currently submerged at a depth of 2 m: circular tanks used to store grain in Greek times, converted in Roman times into kilns for lime making.
Geologically, the area is characterized by a Mesozoic-Miocene carbonate succession and is the eastern offshoot of the Iblean Mountains. The terrestrial flora is represented by more than 1,500 species and subspecies of plants: it is the realm of dwarf palm and in springtime of limonium.
The peninsula is the result of tectonic activity in the area, which has allowed the formation of a small plateau that from the maximum elevation of 54 meters slopes seaward both to the east and west through marine terraces of Pleistocene age or from escarpments due to bradyseism.
The coastline alternates between low stretches, with small beach lines, and high, jagged stretches, with deep seabed already a short distance from land. Marine abrasion has created several caves: the Capo Meli cave, the Crayfish cave and the Pillirina cave have micro-environments of interest for marine speleology.
Some, especially in the stretch between Cape Tavernara and Cape Murro di Porco, extend inland along ancient fracture planes, giving rise during grecale or libeccio swells to a peculiar hydropneumatic effect caused by the wave front entering the coastal cavities and generating spectacular columns of water.
The fauna consists of mollusks, echinoderms, porifera, crustaceans, tunicates, osteichthyes, and chondrichthyes. The marine flora boasts the presence of lichens, marine phenerogams, blue, green, brown and red algae. Of the species found in this area, 93 are endemic to the Mediterranean, and some have been described at this site, a place of special significance for marine biodiversity.
In the area between Augusta and Cape Passero, cetaceans have been sighted at different times of the year: the stenella, bottlenose dolphin, grampus (in spring-summer) and common dolphin (in summer-autumn), and fin whale (in the area of Cape Murro di Porco).
Discover the beauty of Plemmirio:
a walking trail for all
The Magdalena Peninsula Trail
Siracusa: from Cape Murro di porco lighthouse to Punta della Mola or vice versa.
Reasons for interest: naturalistic, scenic.
Trail characteristics: trails on natural ground accessed from paved roads (Capo Murro di Porco provincial road; Sant'Agostino crossroad); lacks signage.
Length: about 6 km.
Environment: predominantly rocky area consisting of Miocene limestones strongly influenced by marine factors (wind, aerosols, salinity). Bioclimate: dry Mediterranean.
Nature: the queen of the site is the dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis). Discontinuous shrub formations spread over sandy soil or rich limestone rock outcrops: garigues. They alternate with scrub of lentisk, myrtle, boxwood, spinaporci (Sarcopoterium spinosum) and various species of euphorbia (deindroides and bivonae). In spring the flowering expanses of Limonium sinuatum (here renamed syracusanus) are a spectacle of rare beauty, especially in the Punta Tavernara area. On the wildlife side, the site is a vantage point for migratory passerines. The wetland area of the former salt pans (habitat of egrets, herons, cormorants, and moorhens) is a few kilometers away, and it is not uncommon to spot flocks of flamingos circling, especially at sunset time. Other animal species present are: the Sicilian lizard, the rabbit, the painted discoglossus (now very rare due to the abandonment of the gebbies), and the burbot or "scursuni."
History & Legend: It is the place where the Athenian fleet and soldiers stayed during their expeditions. The toponym comes from the existence of a small church dedicated to Mary Magdalene. The name "pillirina," on the other hand, comes from a fishermen's legend about a sailor and a maiden who met on full moon nights in the cave located at the end of the Pillirina cove.
An area under protection: the Maddalena peninsula, located south of the great port of Siracusa, facing the island of Ortigia, is subject to various protection regulations not only for its natural and scenic beauty but also for the importance of archaeological and historical evidence. Punta della Mola is the site on which fall archaeological constraints relating to a Bronze Age necropolis with traces of an adjoining village, extensive latomie (quarrying quarries of the Greek age, from which comes the stone used to erect the temples and monuments of Siracusa), further evidence that in this area stood the ancient suburban district of Plemmyrion and lime kilns of the Roman imperial period (highlighted by the excavations and studies of the archaeologist Paolo Orsi).
Public transportation: the 123 bus that leaves from Rubino Street near the train station, but it is infrequent.
Parking: at the end of the provincial road to the Capo Murro di porco lighthouse, in the square in front of the bar that demarcates access to the small road leading to the lighthouse. At the beginning of the S. Agostino crossing. The entrance leading to Punta della Mola falls on privately owned land. Alternatively, you can park at the end of Via Capo Passero, where there are signs for the marine area: for Punta del gigante, Punta Tavernara, outlets to the sea No. 32 and 33. This entrance allows you to reach the Maddalena path almost halfway along the route: going to the left or north, you proceed for about 1.5 km and reach the Pillirina cave; to the right or south you can continue instead in the direction of the lighthouse.
The access leads to a kind of rocky plateau where there are two ruined rural buildings. A particularly scenic spot: a true stage of nature. Not surprisingly. Alfredo Romano, a well-known artist from Syracuse, conceived a project for this site, imagining a small theater on semicircles of dry stone walls, which goes along with the morphology of the land and incorporates native vegetation.
excursions by bicycle and/or e-bike
trekking in the park of Etna
