Realmonte, Sicily
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Visit Realmonte
Located on the coast of south-west Sicily, the town of Realmonte is best known as a coastal resort because there are several very fine beaches close to hand, and also the impressive cliff scenery that provides a backdrop to several of the beaches - the beaches at Siculiana Marina and Scala dei Turchi are good examples of the beaches near Realmonte.
But there is much more to Realmonte than the sea, and if you can tear yourself away from the beach there is a lot to discover in Realmonte itself and the surrounding region. Within the town there is little that predates the 17th century - but you should be aware that the region has been inhabited since the early stone age, with remains of Australopithecus Africanus, a predecessor of homo sapiens and traces of 'pebble culture' dating back almost 3/4 million years found in the vicinity - among the oldest in Europe, from the time when primitive man was first starting to learn that stones could be fashioned into tools.
A second important historical building is the Roman villa uncovered near the town and dating from the 1st century AD. The villa includes an impressive roman floor mosaic in black and white tiles showing Neptune riding a dolphin and also a fight between Scylla and Charybdis. The quality of the mosaicxs and the presence of a heated pool in the villa at Realmonte suggest that it belonged to a wealthy nobleman of the time. The layout of the rooms within the villa has also been exposed and some of the other rooms also feature mosaics. The wall around the villa stretched to the seashore, much as an exclusive seaside villa might do today.
Need more history? Perhaps the site of the roman town of Erbesso, very active during the First Punic War might be on your schedule (the Erbesso lighthouse now stands where the city once stood).
After all that history, return to the beach near Realmonte - perhaps the one at Scal dei Turchi and a chance to see a 16th century tower before enjoying the 'rock staircase' that leads you back to the sea...
More information
See more photos and information on Wikipedia Italy: Realmonte