Ducetius, the Sicel leader, had been defeated by Syracuse and exiled to Corinth. In 446 BC he came back, with some Corinthians, and founded Calacte here: from the Greek Kalé Akté, «beautiful coast». Diodorus Siculus tells the story.
Calacte minted bronze coins with Dionysus and a bunch of grapes, and exported wine: amphorae made here in the fourth century AD have been found in Rome. Silius Italicus called it litus piscosa Calacte, the fish-rich shore. The Hellenistic town burned at the end of the first century, and people moved down to the sea, where Caronia Marina is today. There are 3,463 residents.
Arancino · Pasta alla Norma · Pitone messinese
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Next up: Saint Blaise, patron of a municipality with three patrons for three coastal hamlets, Wednesday 3 February
Nearest airport: Catania Fontanarossa, 83 km away
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📅 Every year, on 3 February, with distinct patrons in the different hamlets
Caronia celebrates Saint Blaise on 3 February in the main town, while the Madonna Annunziata is patron of Marina and Saint John the Apostle of Canneto: a territory of 226 square kilometres, the largest in the metropolitan city of Messina.
Saffron rice, ragù with peas and caciocavallo inside a golden cone-shaped crust: in Catania it is masculine and pointed, and the quarrel with Palermo over the name is serious.
Read more →A thin sheet of dough folded into a half-moon and fried, with escarole, tuma cheese, anchovies and black pepper inside: Messina’s street food, to eat hot straight from the rosticceria.
Read more →Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Caronia, but an easy day trip away.
