Villa Maris in Castellammare del Golfo

Area Information
Castellammare del Golfo : 1 Km
The name of Castellammare del Golfo derives from Latin Castellum maris (Castle at the sea). The town dominates the wide homonymous gulf, seat of the ancient emporium of the nearby Segesta, it was the main landing-place of Erice and Segesta during the pre-Hellenic period. Towards the end of the Middle Ages it became a stronghold. After the settling down of the tunny-fishing grounds and of the loader for embarking corn, the town played an important role for the main trading way towards the inside of the island. In 1560 it was the first village close to the Pietro di Luna"s castle.
Still now Castellammare del Golfo is involved in a fairly good export trade of agricultural products and of tunned industry (tunny preserved in oil and salted fish).
In the Cathedral Church, Madonna del Soccorso, it is possible to admire the valuable fifteenth-century frescos by G. Tresca and the beautiful majolica statue of the Madonna. A special importance is given to the Castle, probably of Arab origin which rises on an isthmus destroyed many times during the centuries.
Nearby it is situeted Scopello"s (small rock) beach, an evocative little bay sheltered from the Faraglioni (jutting rocks standing out in the sea) and protected by old towers. The tunny-fishing complex stands in Scopello; it is full of ancient founds connected with the fishing which took place in it. Scopello is a very beautiful small seafaring village risen round to a seventeenth rural farm that still today shows oneself on the central public square of country. The very beautiful steeps needles of Scopello rise bristly and are covered by vegetation opposite the homonimous tuna station.
Segesta : 20 Km
Tempio – The Temple of Segesta, one of the most perfectly preserved monuments to survive from Antiquity, stands in majestic solitude on a hill surrounded by a deep valley, framed by Monte Bernardo and Monte Barbaro where the theatre is situated. Built in 430 BC (although scholars are divided about its exact date), the temple is a Doric building of extraordinarily harmonious proportions. The 36 columns of the peristyle are almost completely intact, their gloriously mellow golden-tinged limestone flattered by their smooth finish. The road up to the theatre (approx 2km: regular minibus service) provides fabulous views back over the temple. Before the theatre, on the right, are the remains of the Hermitage of San Leone with a single apse, built over the foundation of an earlier three-apsed church and, behind it, the ruins of the Norman castle.
Teatro – The theatre was built in the 3C BC during the Hellenistic period, while the area was under Roman domination. It consists of a perfect semicircle with a diameter of 63m, apparently slotted into a rocky slope. The tiers of seats face west towards the hills, beyond which, to the right, may be glimpsed the broad Bay of Castellammare. Every two years, during a summer festival, the theatre is revived by throngs of spectators eager to savour the great Classical tragedies and comedies so beloved to the ancients, in a timeless setting.