MILAZZO
Milazzo is a town in the Metropolitan area of Messina, on the island of Sicily, Italy and has played host to many ancient battles. Today Milazzo is the main port of departure for the Aeolian Islands but its worth a stopover to visit the beautiful old town and castle.
A brief history of Milazzo
Inhabited since the Neolithic age, Milazzo was the place where Ulysses was shipwrecked and met Polyphemus in Homer's Odyssey. In 260 BC it was the site of a famous Roman naval victory against the Carthaginians in the First Punic War. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the town played another pivotal part in Roman history, when it became one of the first episcopal seats in Sicily under the Byzantines. The castle we can see in the town today was built in the 9th century when the Arabs then conquered Milazzo. Later strengthened by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, he also created a private hunting park. The castle was rebuilt for the third time under the Spanish.
Things to do in Milazzo
Milazzo Castle, located on the summit of a hill overlooking the town, on a site first fortified in the Neolithic era, is well worth a visit. The Greeks modified it into an acropolis and later enlarged into a castrum by the Romans and Byzantines. There are round towers situated along the walls, as well as a Gothic portal dating back to the 14th century. Close by you can find are some ruins from the fourteenth-century palace of the grand jury and the old cathedral from 1603, which was designed by architect Camillo Camillians. The Antiquarium di Milazzo is also worth visiting if you are a historian, the museum has ten rooms housing treasures from Neolithic times to the Byzantine era. Most of the items are household ceramics and funeral urns, with an emphasis on the Greek and prehistoric periods.
Beaches around Milazzo
The most famous beach bear Milazzo is Ponente beach and is fully equipped with sunbeds, refreshments and toilet facilities. The beach itself has small, white, polished pebbles and the sea is crystalline. This beach is free, and there is parking nearby. Pretty Vaccarella beach is in a fishing area and has lots of little boats bobbing along the shore with their nets stretched out in the sun to dry. But the locals generally choose Croce di Mare, which is varied with sand, pebbles, and rocky parts - you'll see a small statue at the end of the rocks. There is also Piscina di Venere, a series of saltwater pools, the water is clear, and it's a lovely spot to relax.