Petrosino

Petrosino

There is a stretch of Sicily where the land slips gently down to the sea with neither cliffs nor crags, in a long expanse of pale sand and shallow, turquoise water. This is the coast of Petrosino, the youngest town in the province of Trapani, founded only in 1980 when it broke away from Marsala: a place of sea and countryside, without grand monuments but with a light, a horizon and an authenticity that have been lost elsewhere.

Its very name tells of its bond with the sea: it is said to derive from the Latin sinus Petri, the "gulf of Peter", because tradition holds that it was here, in the bay of the Biscione, that Saint Peter came ashore. Today Petrosino is golden beaches, vineyards that yield grapes for Marsala, fishing boats, the silhouette of the Sibiliana Tower against the sunset and the nearness of the Stagnone and its salt pans just a few minutes away. A genuine Sicily, to be lived slowly.

"Gulf of Peter", from the Latin sinus Petri: the name of Petrosino preserves the memory of Saint Peter coming ashore on the beach of the Biscione.
— From local tradition

The youngest town in the Trapani area

Petrosino has a short administrative history but an ancient land. Until 1980 it was a hamlet of Marsala: in that year it gained its autonomy, becoming the youngest town in the province of Trapani. It lies between Marsala to the north and Mazara del Vallo to the south, on a fertile plain that slopes down to a low, sandy shore. You do not come here for baroque palaces or cathedrals, but for the slow rhythm of a farming and seafaring town, the greenhouses and vineyards, the low houses and the scent of salt air: the image of a true western Sicily, far from the beaten track.

The beaches and the sea of the Biscione

Petrosino's real treasure is its sandy coast: miles of golden shore and shallow, clear, warm water, perfect for families and for anyone who loves wading in. The best-known beaches are those of the Biscione, the Torrazza and the Sibiliana, with seabeds that shelve gently. Off the Biscione, however, the seabed grows more varied and drops to sixty metres: a paradise for diving, in a fish-rich sea where it is not rare to spot dolphins and Caretta caretta turtles, which choose these quiet shores to lay their eggs.

Petrosino

The Sibiliana Tower, sentinel over the sea

On Petrosino's shore stands the Sibiliana Tower, the town's emblem. It is a square watchtower, built of stone with tufa cornerstones, about twelve metres high, with thick walls and a battlemented crown. It belongs to the great system of coastal towers raised in Sicily during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to defend the shores from Barbary raids: from tower to tower, with optical signals, the alarm would race along the whole coastline. The Sibiliana also served as a "lighthouse" for the nearby tuna trap, signalling the passage of the tuna. Further inland, in the Ramisella countryside, another tower — the Galvaga — kept watch over the fields.

Vineyards, wine and country flavours

Behind the beach, Petrosino is countryside as far as the eye can see: rows of vineyards, greenhouses and vegetable gardens that make this one of the most fertile lands in the Trapani area. The grapes grown here help give life to the famous Marsala wine and to the wines of the territory, while the produce reaches markets across the province. It is a living farming vocation, celebrated at the end of summer with the Festa di Chianura, among folk groups, rural traditions and old-fashioned sweets. The sea completes the larder: fishing is still part of the economy and the landscape, and the fresh catch goes straight to the table, in dishes that are simple and deeply Mediterranean.

Just minutes from the Stagnone and the salt pans

Petrosino's location is one of its blessings: in a few minutes you reach some of the most iconic places in western Sicily. Just to the north, beyond Marsala, lies the Stagnone with its salt pans, windmills and the Phoenician island of Mozia: the lagoon where the sunset turns the water pink and gold is a sight famous the world over. Nearby too is Birgi, with Trapani airport, from which even scenic Piper flights set off over the Stagnone. And then Marsala, Mazara del Vallo and the Salt Road: Petrosino is the ideal base, quiet and by the sea, for discovering the whole west of the island.

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