Realmonte > Itinerary 1

The municipality of Realmonte has an enchanting coast and the Scala dei Turchi is its most precious pearl. A superb rocky cliff modelled by the sea and the wind which you can also admire from the new Belvedere recently created by the Municipality of Realmonte and FAI- Fondo Ambiente Italiano. The coast offers various beautiful sandy beaches and little bays such as Giallonardo, le Spiaggette, Punta Grande and Lido Rossello. Along the beach of Punta Grande are the ruins of an ancient Roman villa built between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD: a rare example of a maritime villa. The villa was built around a courtyard with a colonnade and an impluvium, a small pond which collected rainwater. Beyond this inner courtyard there were various domestic rooms, some of which with floor mosaics depicting marine gods or with geometrical decorations. Both the beauty of the decorations and the presence of a small complex of termae within the villa testify the elevated social status of the dominus, the villa’s patron. Torre di Monterosso is one of best preserved towers built by Charles V along the Sicilian coasts in the 16th century in order to protect the island from ottoman attacks. The tower is strategically located high on a promontory, looking out over the sea and the beaches of Giallonardo and le Spiaggette just below it. Charles V was the only heir of various dynasties and he governed wisely over territories in both Europe and America: his empire was so vast that he boasted that the sun never set on it.