Travel Guide Aci Trezza

This small fishing port is known for its eight basaltic rocks called "Cyclops rocks" or "Faraglioni". According to the Homeric legend, these rocks were thrown by Polyphemus against Ulysses who had just blinded him. According to the local legend: the shepherd Acis falls madly in love with Galatea, a semi-divine nymph, after having seen her beautiful reflection in the river rising from Etna. Their romance is interrupted one night when the volcano shakes and rumbles, marking the arrival of the Cyclops Polyphemus, also in love with Galatea. The latter, mad with jealousy, crushes Acis under a rock and dismembers him in nine parts corresponding today to the nine zones of the area: Aci castello, Acitrezza, Aci Santa Lucia, Aci Sant'Antonio, Aci Bonaccorsi, Aci Platani, Aci San Filippo and Aci Catena. Galatea, broken by pain, transforms Acis into a stream. It was here that Luchino Visconti shot his film The Earth Trembles, with real fishermen of the village and in dialect. Giovanni Verga brought to life the characters of his novel The Malavoglia (1881). It is a charming place for a stroll at sunset. There are many restaurants along the main street near the port. Traditional fishing is still practiced today. U pisci e mari is the folk festival that takes place on June 24 and has been held since the middle of the 18th century to celebrate St. John the Baptist, the patron saint of the village: the fishermen perform a swordfish fishing scene.