Aci Trezza () is a town in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'' of the comune of

Aci Castello Aci Castello () is a ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, Italy. Located north of Catania on the Mediterranean coast, the city's primary economic sectors are agriculture and industry (in Catania). The city is surrounded by ...

, c. 10 km north of

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, with a population of around 5,000 people. Located on the coast of the Ionian Sea, the village has a long history of maritime activity. Aci Trezza is a popular spot for Italian vacationers in the summer. The patron Saint of the town is

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

. The Festa of San Giovanni is celebrated each year during the last week of June in his honor.

The Islands of the Cyclops

Off the coast of Aci Trezza are three tall, prominent

sea stacks A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...

. According to local legend, these were the great stones thrown at

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

in the epic poem. The ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'' by the monster

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...

. The islands are thus referred to as the "isole dei ciclopi" (islands of the Cyclops, or

Cyclopean Isles The Cyclopean Isles (Italian: ''Isole Ciclopi''), noted for their rows of basaltic columns piled one above another, lie not far from Mount Etna off the eastern coast of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea. Geology Formed about 500,000 years ago, th ...

) by locals. This complements the notion that the Cyclops once had a smithy below

Mount Etna Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( or ; , or ; ; or ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina, Italy, Messina and Catania. It is located above the Conve ...

, which looms over the village to the northwest.

Cultural references

Giovanni Verga Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian Literary realism, realist (''Verismo (literature), verista'') writer. His novels ''I Malavoglia'' (1881) and ''Mastro-don Gesualdo'' (1889) are widel ...

's novels ''

I Malavoglia ''I Malavoglia'' () is the best known novel by Giovanni Verga. It was first printed in 1881. Background The readers' good reception of the short story ''Nedda'', published in 1874, encouraged the project of a "sea sketch" entitled ''Padron ' ...

'' ("The House by the Medlar Tree"), and Fantasticheria are set in Aci Trezza. In 1948

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

filmed his neo-realist film ''

La Terra Trema ''La Terra Trema'' (; "The Earth Trembles") is a 1948 Italian neorealist film directed, co-written, and produced by Luchino Visconti. A loose adaptation of the 1881 novel '' I Malavoglia'' by Giovanni Verga, the film documents the economic and p ...

'', based on Verga's novel ''I Malavoglia'', in Aci Trezza. The entire cast were local inhabitants rather than professional actors. A small museum dedicated to the film can be found in the town, and is run by one of the cast members.

Notes and references

* Specific {{Authority control Frazioni of the Metropolitan City of Catania Aci Castello