Scopello and the Zingaro Reserve

Scopello is a small picturesque village which arose in the late eighteenth century around a Baglio, on the site of a pre-existing Arab rural home. The village has developed recently thanks to tourism which has discovered the charm and beauty of these natural places and its magnificent beaches. On the little village square is an old fountain which was once a drinking trough for animals and in front of which rises a majestic archway to the Baglio itself. Today, the interior of the courtyard is home to several bars, ice cream parlours, restaurants and small shops of local craftwork. Around the Baglio there are a few shops, bars and the famous artisan bakery "Di Stabile e Anselmo" where you can taste, in the shade of fig trees, local focacce called "pani cunzatu" an excellent homemade bread cooked in a wood oven and dressed with oil, tomato and anchovies. Below the village, continuing seawards, you meet a charming inlet surrounded by the imposing Fariglioni. Here, protected by ancient watchtowers, is one of the most beautiful attractions of the area: the Scopello Tuna Fishery, its oldest part dates to the 13th century. The fishery was in operation until a few years ago. Today it is a tourist destination in which to stop or simply sunbathe and take a swim. Access to the fishery is only allowed on foot by paying a day-ticket. Descending towards the complex you can stop on a treelined grassland area with view of the fishery and the sea or arrive further down as far as the Fishery where there is a snack bar and the possibility to rent deckchairs in the shade of a large seafront patio. From the pier you can easily dive into the water for a swim in the fresh and crystal clear waters facing the Fariglioni. Included between Scopello and San Vito lo Capo a few kilometres to the east there is Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve, a protected and uncontaminated coastal strip, which can only be travelled on foot, with numerous beaches and inlets, surely the most beautiful of western Sicily. In Scopello, there are other beaches of sand and pebbles including Guidaloca (which you meet on the road on your arrival to Scopello), Cala Bianca, Cala Rossa and Cala dello Stinco.