What a unique panorama in the north-west of Sicily Photo: stock.adobe.com/4zoom4
A beach like a painting, a festival with history and a place that has not lost its own rhythm - despite its increasing popularity.
There are places that change their face over time. And there are places like San Vito lo Capo on Sicilythat do not pander. Not the jet set, not the glossy brochures, not the myth of the "insider tip", which has long since ceased to be one. And yet - or precisely because of this - more and more people are travelling here every year, to the extreme north-western tip of Sicily, to where the land ends and the light begins. Just under 5,000 people live here.
Caribbean beach with Italian charm
The postcard motifs have arrived on social media, the incredibly beautiful beach, fine sand and almost three kilometres long. Walking barefoot through the sand is more reminiscent of the Caribbean than Italy. Turquoise blue water, gently sloping. Many people have been coming here since childhood, even if more and more newcomers have joined them in recent years. San Vito is a long-term relationship.
Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com
The fact that San Vito has remained "down-to-earth Italian" despite its growing fame probably has something to do with its roots. It was and still is a fishing village, even if many nets now hang above restaurant doors as decoration. The Tonnara del Secco, the old tuna factory outside the centre, is a silent monument to this history. Generations once worked here, today it is closed down - but still there.
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No international jet set
While other coastal towns have long been characterised by luxury hotels or glass designer villas and are unaffordable for the average person, in San Vito you still go to "Nonna" if you need a holiday flat. The choice of accommodation is large - from small bed & breakfasts to affordable family hotels - but without any delusions of grandeur. No jet set, no yachts with helipads, no fashion chains in gold lettering. If you stroll through the alleyways here, you are more likely to see children with gelato than chic people with selfie sticks.
Even the nightlife remains modest: a glass of wine on the piazza, a plate of pasta with bottarga, perhaps a walk to the lighthouse, which has tirelessly watched over the coast since 1859. In the evening, when the sun sinks glowing red into the sea, the place falls silent for a moment - as if it were listening to itself.
Photo by Martino Grua on Pexels.com
Monte Monaco and the nature reserve
If you approach the town from above - from Monte Monaco, for example, which towers 532 metres above the town - you can see how compact and yet spacious San Vito is. The bay, the mountains, the vast blue. Those who hike or climb here experience the landscape physically. Over 1,600 climbing routes make the cliffs a Mecca for sports enthusiasts.
The nature reserve, the Riserva Naturale Orientata dello Zingaro, stretches for seven kilometres between San Vito Lo Capo and Castellammare del Golfo. It is one of the last stretches of Sicilian coastline without a coastal road. Access is only permitted on foot. There are several hiking trails, from coastal paths to more challenging panoramic trails. Dwarf palms, orchids, olive and almond trees, numerous bird species, for example birds of prey such as the peregrine falcon or the Bonelli's eagle nest here. There are seven famous, crystal-clear bays along the coast, such as Cala Capreria and Cala dell'Uzzo.
Photo by Jan van der Wolf on Pexels.com
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Couscous and coastal rocks
Once a year in September, the smell of cumin, cinnamon and seafood wafts through the streets. This is when the town centre is transformed into a culinary stage: the couscous festival, now internationally renowned, brings together chefs from North Africa, France and, of course, Sicily. And it doesn't come across as staged folklore, but as what San Vito has always been - a place between worlds, open to influences without bending.
Of course San Vito has changed. Of course it's crowded in high season, of course there's now sushi and Aperol Spritz in fancy glasses. But. San Vito doesn't want to please. It simply is.
