The long stretch of white sand beach with sparkling clear water at San Vito di Capo is a miracle of Nature, but I wasn’t the only person to know on a Sunday in high season. It was packed.
I had to find another place, off the beaten track…the perfect beach. But first, an obligatory cafe granita…
In front of the Santuario of San Vito, the medieval church that was built to honor San Vito. A Roman Christian, he fled persecution in a nearby city, but died trying to convert the locals.
The neat streets of the town were largely abandoned with everyone on the beach.
Many of the houses, built of the local tufo stone, have wrought iron balconies like this one.
I left the town and headed out into the hinterlands toward the Lo Zingaro Nature Preserve. The first sign that I was leaving the tourist area was a modern day herder with his goats.
A precipitous, winding road runs 15-20 to the Park. It is dotted with medieval Saracen lookout towers. (These were built along the coast to warn inhabitants of attacks by Saracen–Arab/Muslim—pirates.)
No picture can explain the vastness and wildness of the landscape.
At the northern entrance to the Park, I bought a sandwich and a drink and began the hike toward the southern entrance (approximately 2 hours). There are small beaches (Cale) tucked into the mountains all along the way.
The further you hike, the fewer the people. Even on a Sunday in high season, there was plenty of room at the first beach.
The water was crystalline.
There was silence, no loud conversations or music playing. The landscape brought a sense of wonder that naturally commanded respect
In the evening, I returned to town. The streets were full, and the beach was deserted.
The map below (Source: Google Map) shows the location.
I love Sicily (and sicilian food) so much, beautiful pics