Reverie in Acitrezza

On Sunday 15 June 2005 we set off from Messina for Acitrezza, in Sicilian 'Trizza', a hamlet of the municipality of Aci Castello, in the province of Catania. An old and notable fishing centre, it is famous for its landscape. Coming from Messina on the A18 ME-CT, exit at the San Gregorio toll booth and follow the signs for Acicastello - Riviera dei Ciclopi.

Acitrezza is a place famous for its catch, which you can enjoy in the many establishments all over the village. That Sunday we went for 'tradition' and chose the Trattoria 'I Malavoglia'. Trattoria I Malavoglia - Lungomare dei Ciclopi, 167 Acitrezza (CT) Tel. 095/7116556 (CLOSED ON TUESDAYS). The helpful staff and a genuinely tasty fish-based kitchen make this place a safe choice.

Acitrezza, with its views and evocative landscapes, is also famous for Giovanni Verga's novel 'I Malavoglia', which history would have living in Acitrezza at the Casa del Nespolo. And indeed there is a Casa del Nespolo in Acitrezza, and it is said that it may be the house that inspired Verga's novel.

'The casa del nespolo is situated in the heart of old Trezza, almost at the top of a little lane near the only church; every visitor is immediately struck by the typical Sicilian architecture of the late 1800s that makes it up... the courtyard, the little rooms that open onto it and the entrance door, a round arch in lava stone. It is the house of the Malavoglia, the house from which, says Verga, he could hear the sea 'snoring'....' (from the site:

Today the casa del nespolo houses a museum that recalls, among other things, the famous film shot entirely in the fishing village in 1947 by Luchino Visconti, 'La Terra Trema'. The museum La Casa del Nespolo consists of two rooms: the first, the room of the film 'la terra trema', dedicated to the director L. Visconti, who in 1947 arrived in Acitrezza and decided to shoot this film not with professional actors, but with people chosen entirely from among the inhabitants of the small fishing village. The second room is called the 'Malavoglia' room. Here you find old fishing tools. Lastly, in honour of the name and the place, the 'casa del nespolo' displays some letters from the writer Giovanni Verga to his brother Pietro and a catalogue containing a collection of photos taken directly by Verga.

The museum's opening hours are from October to March: Morning 9.30 to 12.30 - Afternoon 16.00 to 18.00; for the months of April, May, June, September: Morning 9.30 to 12.30 - Afternoon 16.00 to 19.00; for the months of July and August: Morning 9.30 to 13.00 - Afternoon 17.00 to 21. (source:

Our stroll in Acitrezza was therefore a pleasant leap into the literature, history and good seafood cuisine of the place, all infused with a splash of 'Fantasticheria'.