Overview
In the province of Agrigento, Porto Empedocle - once known as Marina di Girgenti - is still the commercial hub connecting the city with the Pelagie Islands. In the 16th century it was one of the most important grain loading ports in the whole of Sicily, and a tower was specially built to defend it. This is the Tower of Charles V, next to the harbour, which houses pieces of artillery and illustrative panels relating its defensive function against pirates. Some areas appeared later, such as the artificial pier, built in 1749. Porto Empedocle has a single street axis, Via Roma, overlooked by the Mother Church dedicated to the Most Holy Saviour. The city is also of significant literary interest: it helped to inspire the imaginary city of “Vigata”, featured in the novels of Andrea Camilleri (a statue of Inspector Montalbano can also be admired in Via Roma). The same author writes about the Tower of Charles V in the novel ”The Forgotten Massacre”, recalling the 1848 tragedy in which a hundred unarmed prisoners died. Luigi Pirandello was also born near Porto Empedocle, in the locality of Caos. The author would fondly recall the beach and the sea that he could see from his window. In his novella “Lontano” (Far), he portrays the city as besieged by the sirocco wind, with angry rollers lashing a port guarded over by a high, sombre, square tower.
92014 Porto Empedocle AG, Italia
