The rocks hurled by Polyphemus and Verga's fishing village
North of Catania, along the Riviera dei Ciclopi, the coast is formed by black lava cliffs. In front of the village of Aci Trezza, in the municipality of Aci Castello, rise the Faraglioni dei Ciclopi, basalt sea stacks that, according to legend, are the rocks hurled by the blinded Cyclops Polyphemus at the fleeing Ulysses, as told in the Odyssey.
Aci Trezza is also the setting of I Malavoglia, the novel by Giovanni Verga about a family of poor fishermen, and of Luchino Visconti's film "La terra trema". The Casa del Nespolo recalls them. A short way south, the Norman castle of Aci Castello stands on a block of lava rising from the sea. The protected marine area of the Isole Ciclopi is ideal for snorkelling.
Tip: the lava coast has few sandy beaches but many platforms and ladders into the sea; in the evening, Aci Trezza's seafront fills with fish restaurants.
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