Portopalo di Capo Passero

Portopalo di Capo Passero (Puortupalu in Sicilian) is the seaside village more to the south of Sicily, but not of Italy (despite being located below the parallel of Tunis, the municipality of Lampedusa and Linosa is more south). Its territory is part of the Island of Capo Passero a few tens of meters from the mainland and the island of currents of a few kilometers. It is mainly an agricultural center and seafaring and precisely on these activities bases its economic fortunes. The village is wet by two seas, the Ionian Sea and the rest of the Mediterranean. Sullo Jonio stood at one time the small harbor where there are still, even if now almost crumbling, Le Casette of fishermen. To the east stands the Island of Capo Passero.

The territory that now includes Portopalo was inhabited since antiquity. The village was called in various ways: initially Head Pachino, following noble Land and finally Porto Palo. The founder of Portopalo is don Gaetano Deodato Moncada, that if it took place since 1778 and that in 1792 made built at his own expense a hundred houses around the Tonnara. The first urban nucleus was composed of about 300 people, between peasants, shepherds and fishermen. Until 1812, when feudality was abolished, Portopalo was village suburbs of known. It then passed under the decurionato of Pachino, until in 1974 it became an autonomous municipality to the work of Dr. Salvatore goiter, doctor and politician. In 1936, as is apparent from the census, was inhabited by 1,710 people, arranged in small habitations along via Vittorio Emanuele, and presented as a tranquil country village. Most of the houses were white and cracked by the sun and sea salt. In almost all there was a small space ('u bagghiu) used as a stable, where it was possible to cultivate a small garden. In the country there was a water network that would provide water to homes: women were then forced to wash our clothes, to go to the drain comunale at the Castello Brown Belmonte (now Tafuri). The life of portopalesi was eaten during the day in the fields and in the evening to the sea, to purse seines, for rounding the revenue.