Sicilian port to expand tourist activities

The Sicilian port of Pozzallo is set to develop a widely awaited sea passenger terminal together with the upgrading of its existing port facilities.
The news was welcomed by Malta-based Virtu’ Ferries Ltd which is now looking into the possibility of investing in the proposed passenger terminal, that is expected to service further routes in the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, Virtu’ Ferries will by next year operate a brand new €60 million state-of-the-art catamaran, the ‘Jean de La Valette’.
The tiny fishing port of Pozzallo, situated in the Southern tip of Sicily has been a long-time first port of call for Virtu’ Ferries, on its scheduled route to Sicily that also includes Catania.
A meeting held last week between the Sicilian province government and the mayorships of Ragusa ended in agreement on the development of the terminal, that will now be subject to public tender and expressions of interest.
“We will definitely look into the prospects of investing in the project,” Henri Saliba, Virtu’ Ferries General Manager told Business Today.
The project is expected to cover an area of 4,400 square metres that will include a car park, a commercial centre, a passenger terminal, security services and offices.
Work on the new catamaran ‘Jean de La Valette’ is reportedly progressing according to schedule in its dock at Austal Ships in Western Australia.
A Facebook page set up by Virtu’ Ferries for all to follow the progress on the modern catamaran has attracted hundreds of enthusiasts who receive updates with photographs from Australia.
The page - that can be obtained with a simple Facebook search ‘Jean de La Valette’ – accepts questions from the public, and gives replies on mechanical data.
More than 500 people have so far registered as members and are regular users of the page.
“We are really happy with the response we have received from the public with this Facebook page,” Saliba said, adding that the company feels proud to have initiated such an interactive way of keeping the general public informed on the construction of the vessel.
The ‘Jean de La Vallette’ is expected to be completed and operational by August of next year.

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Catacombe di San Giovanni, Siracusa

The Catacombs of St. John in Siracusa contain some 20,000 Early Christian tombs - honeycombed tunnels of empty coffins that were long ago looted of their "burial riches" by plundering grave robbers. They are entered through the evocative ruins of a Norman church.

History

In Roman times, Christians were not allowed to bury their dead within the city limits, so they went outside the boundaries of Syracuse to create burial chambers in what had been used by the Greeks as underground aqueducts. The early Christians recycled these into chapels.

Syracuse has other subterranean burial grounds, but the Catacombs of St. John are the only ones open to the public. You enter the "world of the dead" from the Chiesa di San Giovanni, now a ruin. St. Paul is said to have preached on this spot, so the early Christians venerated it as holy ground.

The church's roots go back to the 6th century, when a basilica stood here, but it was eventually destroyed by the Saracens. The Normans reconstructed it in the 12th century and it served as the cathedral of Syracuse, but in 1693 an earthquake destroyed it. A baroque church was then built, but was abandoned in the 17th century and left in ruins by the earthquake of 1908.

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Successful edition of the Air Malta Syracuse regatta

The 49th edition of the Malta Syracuse Regatta, which anuallly attracts some of the best Maltese and Sicilian boats , was successfully held recently.

This was the second time that Air Malta sponsored this event, which saw the participation of 66 yachts that competed in the race between Siracusa and Malta.

Every year this classic race organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club and Lega Navale Italiana Sezzione Siracusa alternates start lines, and this year it terminated at the Marsamxett Harbour.

'Wolverine' was the overall winner in the ORC category as well as 1st in IRC Class B and winner of the Easy Perfection Trophy, while Maltese yacht ‘Ton Ton’ won the IRC category A, closely followed by the Italian boat ‘Nautilus 227’. Air Malta’s 'Maltese Falcon II' yacht came in third.

The prize-giving ceremony was organised at the Grand Harbour Marina under Fort St Angelo. The prizes were awarded by Dr Brock Friesen, Air Malta Chief Officer Commercial and Georges Bonello DuPuis, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club.

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Interested in the best Italian sparkling wine? - taste like Champagne, but for a fraction of the price! Pinot Prosecco

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“To have seen Italy without Sicily - is not to have seen Italy at all,
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Sicilian fishermen want larger fishing zone

Sicilian fishermen are planning to lobby Italian authorities and the country's European parliamentarians to iron out discrepancies between the fishing areas allotted to Malta and Sicily.

Nello Maialino, a representative of the Portopalo fishermen, said it was ironic that Malta had a 25-mile fishing zone when Sicily, with nearly three times the number of registered fishing vessels, had a mere 12-mile zone.

Mr Maialino said the fishing zone should be distributed according to the fishing fleet and according to the size of the islands.

"Just 12 miles is far too little for all Portopalo's fishing community that depends on the trade for their livelihood. There are 600 families out of a total of 3,000 inhabitants who depend on fishing. We want the fishing zone to be split equally or according to the fleet or the size of land," he said.

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Fisheries Management Zone
Malta has a special 25-mile zone, which falls under the parameters of a fisheries management zone. After EU membership it replaced the 25-mile exclusive fishing zone acquired in 1971 in accordance with the UN's Convention of the Law of the Sea.

The aim of this zone is to protect the fisheries' resources of the sea area and the ecosystems on which they depend. With few exceptions only vessels smaller than 12 metres are allowed to fish within the zone.

The EU arrangement does not discriminate between Maltese and EU fishermen, so Maltese fishermen who own boats larger than 12 metres lost their right to fish in the 25-mile zone upon membership in 2004.

To learn more about Sicily visit Sicily Tourist Guide

To get updates about the Best of Sicily follow us at www.twitter.com/SicilyToday

The taste of Sicily is only a click away - Get the best Sicilian gourmet food delivered directly to your doorstep from www.Sicilian-Marketplace.com - The TOP 100 most sold Sicilian food products online. Our Sicily marketplace is powered by the worlds biggest online shopping site - best customer satisfaction guaranteed!

Interested in the best Italian sparkling wine? - taste like Champagne, but for a fraction of the price! Pinot Prosecco

Why not try some world class fishing and see Sicily from the sea, book a spectacular Sicilian fishing trip with SicilyFishing.com

“To have seen Italy without Sicily - is not to have seen Italy at all,
as Sicily is the key to everything” - Goethe

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