Rankwit – sede di Aci Trezza

Places we like in Aci Trezza

• Experiences

  Casa del Nespolo

  Small museum in a 19th-century two-room house next to the church of San Giovanni Battista, named after the medlar-tree house in Verga's I Malavoglia. One room covers Luchino Visconti's La terra trema, filmed here in 1948 with local fishermen as actors; the other shows fishing life in the mid-1800s, with tools, household objects, photographs taken by Verga and letters to his brother Pietro. Both rooms open onto a courtyard with a medlar tree.

  • →Ticket €1.50 (Ministry of Culture listing and travel365, seen November 2026).
  • →Published opening hours disagree between sources, so call 095 7116638 before going.
  • →Allow about 45 minutes.

• Beaches and nature

  Faraglioni dei Ciclopi ↗

  Basalt sea stacks just off Aci Trezza which, according to legend, Polyphemus threw at Ulysses. They are part of the Riserva naturale integrale Isola Lachea e Faraglioni dei Ciclopi, set up in 1998 and run by the University of Catania, inside the Isole Ciclopi marine protected area. You see them from the Lungomare dei Ciclopi, where people swim from volcanic rock platforms, in free areas or at lidos with sunbeds.

  • →The stacks themselves are zone A of the reserve, open only to authorised scientific work: swim around them, do not climb them.
  • →Scuba diving in the marine protected area needs an authorisation from the managing body; the visitor centre is at Via Provinciale 5/c–5/d, Aci Castello (tel. 095 7117322).
  • →Lava rock is sharp and uneven, so bring shoes you can swim in.

  June–October (sea 22.6–26.3 °C, Catania data)

• Experiences

  Isola Lachea

  The largest of the Cyclops islands, about 400 m off Aci Trezza: an oval of basalt and hardened clay 250 m by 150 m, just under 2 hectares and 35 m high at the top. A natural history museum and a University of Catania marine station sit on the summit, and the island is home to an endemic lizard, Podarcis sicula ciclopica, the reason the reserve exists. When running, guided visits with University staff land on the west side and take 45–60 minutes.

  • →A University of Catania notice says visits are temporarily suspended: check with the reserves office (aree.protette@unict.it, tel. 095 4783550) before planning.
  • →There is no regular boat service to the island, and landing is allowed only on authorised educational visits.
  • →For the visit the University recommends trekking shoes, a hat and water.

  All year, weather permitting (University of Catania)