Pozzallo
Pozzallo is a city near the southern tip of Sicily. It's the port for ferries to Malta, and there's no other reason to come here.
Get in
- The closest local airport is Ragusa. Catania-Fontanarossa is further but with better choice of flights across Europe, and good public transport to Syracuse.
- The fast-cat ferry to Valletta in Malta runs twice day, taking 1 hr 45. Day-trips from Sicily to Malta are possible on Wednesday and Friday. The service is run by Virtu Ferries, return fare €80 low season rising to €160 mid-summer. The ferry terminal is 3 km west of town centre. The catamaran can be quite bouncy even on a calm day, and in bad weather is often cancelled.
- AST bus routes are #50 Syracuse - Noto - Pozzallo - Ragusa - Gela; #56 Pozzallo - Ragusa - Palermo; #57 Pozzallo - Modica - Ragusa; and #59 to Modica. They run all week but are infrequent on Sunday. The bus stop is on Piazza della Rimenbranza along Corso Vittorio Vento, buy tickets on board.
- There are six regional trains a day Mon-Sat: north-west via Ragusa (1 hour) to Gela, with connections to Palermo, and north-east to Syracuse (1 hour), with connections to Palermo, Messina and mainland Italy. No trains on Sunday. The station is on the north edge of town, at the end of Via Giuseppe Mazzini about 10 mins from Piazza della Rimenbranza. The station is just a platform halt and has no amenities, not even a ticket machine: buy tickets from shops eg the tobacconist at foot of V Mazzini, or supermarket next to the station.
- Taxi might be your only choice on Sunday. Price from Ragusa is about €50, from Catania €160, and from Milazzo €240. Book with "Excursions in Sicily" email:info@chauffeurs-italy.com
Get around
There is a taxi rank by the bus stop on Piazza della Rimenbranza. Taxis also meet the ferries from Malta and trains from Syracuse.
Chauffeurs-italy.com offer car rental with driver and taxi services. Based in Ragusa and Pozzallo port, they run transfers and excursions in Siracuse, Noto, Modica, Ragusa, Taormina and Mount Etna. E mail: info@chauffeurs-italy.com
See
The town's main street is Corso Veneto.
- The Cabrera Tower predates the town, being a guard tower for the docks. There's a small museum within. The boardwalk round its seaward wall is derelict.
- Notable churches are Chiesa Santa Maria di Portosalvo on Via Mario Rapisardi (from where the Madonna is paraded on Good Friday), and Chiesa della Madonna del Rosario on Piazzetta San Pietro.
- The Villa Tedeschi now hosts the town library.
- The Beach is a sandy but scrappy thing, stretching east for some 400 m from the Tower to the crumbling cliffs. (The banner photo is fish-eyed, elongating it into a spit.) There's another small beach between the west edge of town and the port, overlooked by the masonry scraps of Castello di Martino. In between is the wave-dashed promenade, with a boat slipway.
- The Festival of John the Baptist is held on the Sunday before 24 June. A flotilla lays a wreath upon the sea.
Do
Buy
Eat
Restaurants and cafes are grouped around the Tower and east end of Via Veneto, with another group near the beach at the western edge of town.
Drink
- 1 Soda Thanks, Santa Maria del Focallo (4 km east along coast road SP67 towards Santa Maria del Focallo), ☏ +39 331 491 2457, info@sodathanks.com. 08:00-00:00. Beach centre, bar and restaurant. 10€ - 30€.
Sleep
- Villa Ada Hotel, 3 Corso Vittorio Veneto, ☏ +39 0932 954 022, fax: +39 0932 954 876, info@hotelvillaada.it. Centrally located three star hotel with well furnished rooms and good restaurant. 70€ single 100€ double shoulder-season.
- Hotel Continental, Via Strada Provinciale 97016 (2 km N of town on SP45, Via Rosario Livatino), ☏ +39 0932 958 858, fax: +39 0932 797 756, hotelcontinental@pozzallo.it. 3-star, with restaurant and pool. €60 single, €95 double.
- Mare Nostrum Petit Hotel, Via Enrico Giunta 12/14 (central near Town Hall), ☏ +39 0932 958 769, fax: +39 0932 798 087. Clean welcoming 3-star. €50.
- 1 Brezza Marina Bed and Breakfast, Via Marco Polo 2 (corner of Via Kennedy), ☏ +39 0932 955 432, info@brezzamarinapozzallo.it. 3-star Bed & Breakfast 300 m from the sea and 500 metres from the port. Rooms have aircon, balconies, tv, iron & ironing board, fridge, hair-dryer and bathroom. €30-60 per person.
- 2 CaseSicule (Case Vacanze a Pozzallo), via cesare cantu 5, ☏ +39 3394874369, saro@casesicule.it. Check-in: 15.00, check-out: 10.00. 50.
Go next
- The Baroque Towns are a series of UNESCO-listed small towns, perched on hilltops above rocky gorges. They're in much demand as period film and TV locations, and Mon-Sat they can easily be done as day-trips from Pozzallo by public transport. Biggest and best are Modica and Ragusa. They also include Noto, Ispica and Scicli.
- You'll need your own car to reach the nature reserves of Macchia Forest on River Irminio near Modica, or of Vendicari on the coast south of Noto.
- Malta is usually the reason people travel to Pozzallo. The capital Valletta is a possible day-trip, with lots to see and do. A longer stay should take in Mdina, the limestone coastline, and the island of Gozo.