Location Sicily | Part of Mediterranean Sea | |
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Etymology Castellammare del Golfo Settlements Terrasini, Trappeto, Balestrate, Alcamo, Castellammare del Golfo, San Vito Lo Capo | ||
Gulf of castellammare sicily summer vacations 2012
The gulf of Castellammare is a large and deep natural inlet going from Capo Rama (near Terrasini, in the province of Palermo) and Capo San Vito (near San Vito Lo Capo, in the province of Trapani). It is located on the western coast of Sicily and it faces the Tyrrhenian Sea.
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Historical hints
In the Roman period the gulf of Castellammare was called "Sinus Aegestanus", referring to the ancient town of Segesta, which has some ruins (the temple and the theatre).
In 1714 it was called "golfo di Longuro or Longarico" by Guglielmo del Isle in his geographical map, referring to the old town centre existing near the present Alcamo.
In 2001 they constituted the association "Sviluppo del Golfo" (the Gulf Development), and in its ambit they founded the "Patto Territoriale Golfo di Castellammare", which is an agreement among different local authorities and representatives of social and economic parties having as a scope the local development of the Gulf of Castellammare. In this agreement the participants are the municipalities of this gulf and those near it, various associations and Banca Don Rizzo. In 2010 they also formed the "Local Action Group Gulf of Castellammare", involving different communes, economic subjects, associations and professional organization in order to realize a plan of local development for the territory of the Gulf of Castellammare.
Municipalities interested
If you go along the gulf from east towards west, you will meet, in sequence, the comune of Terrasini, Trappeto, Balestrate, Alcamo, Castellammare del Golfo and San Vito Lo Capo. The small town of Castellammare del Golfo, which gives the name to the gulf itself, is in its centre.
Touristic attractions
On the eastern end of the gulf there is the nature reserve of Capo Rama, while west of Castellammare (towards San Vito Lo Capo) there is The Nature oriented reserve of Zingaro (Riserva naturale dello Zingaro), and Scopello with its stacks and almadraba (tonnara).