History meets myth in the Cyclops Coast, and we will begin our private day tour with a walk in Acitrezza, an ancient fishing village founded at the end of the 17th century. From the promenade, we will admire the landscape, dominated by the so-called "Faraglioni", which are eight basaltic rocks that, according to legend, were thrown into the sea by Polyphemus to hit Odysseus escaping. We will enter the narrow streets where Giovanni Verga set the novel “I Malavoglia”. Near the Mother Church, in fact, there is a building called “Casa del Nespolo” (House of the Medlar tree), now converted into a museum.
Our guided tour will continue in Aci Castello, an ancient fishing village dominated by a basalt cliff on which is perched a Norman castle. This mighty fortress, built in 1076 using lava stone, currently houses the Museo Civico, that consists of three sections: mineralogy, paleontology and archeology.
Few kilometres separate the center of Aci Castello from Acireale, a town characterized by a remarkable late Baroque heritage. We will admire the buildings that overlook Piazza Duomo, among which the Cathedral with its bell tower and the Baroque marble portal, and the magnificent Palazzo Comunale, characterized by a rich portal, and by balconies and windows with carved cornices. A few meters further down, we will find the Basilica of San Sebastiano, with a richly decorated façade in Baroque style.
Our tour will continue with a walk along Via Cavour, which will allow us to reach Piazza San Domenico, with the homonymous church, and admire the beautiful corbels that support the balconies of the 17th-century buildings. We will then stop at the Library and Art Gallery Zelantea, one of the richest and oldest in Sicily. Finally, we will visit the Opera dei Pupi Theater with its museum of the traditional folk theater, very popular in Sicily.
