Terrasini. The bright land
by Antonio Catalfio
The name “Terrasini”, in the opinion of the historian Gioacchino Di Marzo, is due to capo Rama and to the opposite capo San Vito, forming Castellammare gulf, the ancient “sinus aegestanus”.
Therefore, the territory was called “Terra sinus”, gulf land.
Another interpretation, maybe more suitable, talks about “terra sinorum”, inlets land, because of the amazing, winding and indented coast, full of landing places, natural grottos, beginning from Ciucca shore, in Terrasini gulf, rising up thirty meters above sea level, with colors explosion, sometime white, sometime bright red, and finishing with also a shore: San Cataldo beach.
Sea and coast are the city peculiar highlights; from Terrasini harbor, endowed with a good fishing fleet, our sea itinerary leads to suggestive Praiola beach faraglioni; just after, the Perciata cave where Giovanni Meli, a poet, wrote the most beautiful words about the sea. The spot where the poet used to gaze at the waves shattering on the den, is called “seggia di l’Abati Meli”, Abbot Meli chair.
Our itinerary goes on with Palazzolo bay, ancient white bay, watched by sixteenth-century-tower Alba, future see of the sea museum. Sea grottos and fantastic creeks come in succession in a crystal sea: Monachelle grotto, the famous cala Rossa (red bay) and, going beyond Catalana point, Madonna grotto, Porro bay and capo Rama with the typical fifteenth-century senatorial tower. Three famous grottos (Nassi, Palombi and Grande) lead us to Paternella tower ( XVI Century). Carollo bay, Parrini grotto, and della Stella grotto, Sciaccotta bay, Muletti bay and San Cataldo beach will end our wonderful itinerary of the coast, maybe the most beautiful in Western Sicily.

Terrasini was feudal estate of La Grua Talamanca family, Princes of Carini, who letf behind its domination signs, as well as the municipality coat of arms, also the eighteenth-century castle (today the town hall), a very recasted building that keeps its ancient remains in the inner rooms; another La Grua building is palazzo Cataldi, seat of the prestigious “Claudio Catalfio” library.
Gazzara Baron builded in the end of the seventeenth century the Maria SS. Delle Grazie church, enlarged by the La Grua in the first half of eighteenth century. This cathedral, with a nave and two aisles, keeps very valuable canvases of the schools of Vito D’Anna and Martorana, and many Girolamo Bagnasco wooden statues. It’s worth to see the eighteenth-century Duomo square, the ancient oenological factory of the Duke D’Aumale who, from his Zucco estate, exported a very superfine and famous liqueur-like wine, in the whole world.
It’s worth also to see Villa Fassini, in Paternella country, ascribed to Ernesto Basile, fantastic Art Nouveau style house, belonged to Florio family. In the greenery country Gazzara-Bagliuso you can see the seventeenth-century Gazzara castle, and the Senia, an ancient irrigation instrument used by arabs.

Our gulf city deserves a visit also because its important “regional museum of natural history and permanent display of the sicilian cart”, located in the nineteenth-century D’Aumale-D’Orleans building in Peppino Impastato seafront. The ethno-anthropological section keeps the most important sicilian carts collection of the world, collected by Salvatore Ventimiglia, from Terrasini. The naturalistic section is the most important natural history museum of south Italy, with the important Orlando, Trischitta and Jannizzotto ornithological collections, the Alliata and Mariani entomological collections, the De Stefani paleontological, mineralogical, geological and entomological collection, the Orlando malacological collection. The archaeological section is formed by the antiquarium, where is showed a vertical section of a roman freighter, wrecked in the sea in front of Terrasini; in the amphoras hall are displayed Punic, Italic, Roman and Medieval finds. Therefore, it’s worth to note the nice fishing boat models collection (with all the tools), by Filippo Castro, from Terrasini.

Our handcraft production offers a varied artistic products system. We have an important blown glass and artistic candles factory in Paterna country, ceramics factory in via Cala Rossa and a wrought iron farm. Place of honour for our biological products, lemons above all, exported in the whole Europe.

Who visit Terrasini will never forget its very fresh fish and the exceptional confectionery production, that can offers to the most demanding palate the taste of sicilian tradition, united with an elaboration of new flavours.