La Tonnara di Scopello

Western Sicily


Traditional tuna fishing is explored at this unusual seafront museum, in a vintage tonnara (tuna 'factory'), in operation from the 13th century until its closure in 1984. The complex was greatly developed in the 15th and 16th centuries, and in 1874 the wealthy owners had the elegant, salmon-pink Palazzina Florio built right on the water. The setting alone – overlooking fluorescent blue waters, at the foot of dramatic rock formations capped by a medieval tower – makes it a visit worthwhile.


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