Marzamemi

Marzamemi grew around a tonnara, a tuna trap fishery, whose origins are traced to the Arab period and which was developed under the Villadorata family from the seventeenth century; the village is essentially one square, Piazza Regina Margherita, with the fishermen's low houses on one side, the church at one end and the palace at the other, and the processing buildings behind. The fishery closed in the twentieth century and the square is now filled with restaurant tables in summer. The name is generally traced to Arabic for bay of turtledoves. Tuna and other fish are still preserved and sold locally.

What to look for

• The single square - fishermen's houses, church and palace around one space.
• The tonnara buildings - the old tuna processing works behind the village.
• The preserved fish - local shops selling cured and bottled tuna.
• The rock shore - low platforms and small coves either side.

When to go

May to September; the square fills with tables in summer evenings and a film festival runs in July. Out of season most of the village is shut.

Before you go

The village is very small and now almost entirely restaurants in season. There is no real beach. Parking is limited on summer evenings.

Nearby

Vendicari lies north; Portopalo is at the island's tip.

Key facts