The magnificent and unique Zingaro Reserve

One of the most beautiful nature reserves in Italy, and perhaps in the world, whose perimeter laps San Vito lo Capo. To visit absolutely, with an excursion by land or a mini-cruise by sea, even if only for half a day.

The Zingaro’s Natural Reserve is a reserve managed by the Regional State Forestry Company of the Sicilian Region.

The coast of the Zingaro is one of the very few stretches of coast of the Sicily uncontaminated, crossed by a single path. The pebble coves seen from the sea have the appearance of lighter recessed niches on the side of the walls Dolomites which, entering from the south side of Scopello and going north, take the name of Caladella Capreria, Cala del Varo (reachable by sea), Cala della Disa or Zingaro, Cala Beretta, Cala Marinella, CalaTorre dell'Uzzo, whose limestone substrate enhances the transparency of the water just like a tropical environment. And finally, Tonnarella dell'Uzzo.

You can visit the reserve on sea, via organized boat excursions, but visit it away earth is a whole other thing... a whole other emotion!

The landscape underwater is a continuous succession of colors and shapes. It starts from the shore where the impact of the sea becomes tumultuous and adorns itself with Lithophyllum tortuosum, a very intricate and shattered red algae.
The fish are mainly represented by wrasse and blennidae with very colorful liveries. A rarity is the presence of the Troittor a vermeti, a gastropod mollusc with a tube-shaped shell from 1 to 2cm long. Of nature strongly gregarious limestone, so much so as to merge into unique masses of limestone. Thanks to this process, these platforms (troittors) are formed that border the coast.

The reserve includes several peaks, which reach a maximum height of about a thousand meters. In the Uzzo cave the remains of a much more recent peasant civilization are still visible, which deserves to be remembered. On the road there is a good representation of Mediterranean maquis, with enormous cactus and capers, Pantelleria donkeys, a prehistoric cave. La Palma Nana is the symbol of this nature reserve, the first to be built in Sicily.

Inside the reserve there are the Naturalistic Museum, the Museum of Maritime Activities, the Museum of Farming Civilization, the “Museo della Manna”, the Environmental Education Center, two equipped areas and the ancient rural buildings used as shelters, the Cork district, where it is it is also possible to stay overnight on request. The shelters used for the bivouac are granted only in the period that goes from October in May.

Inside the Reserve it is possible to carry out guided trekking. A day dedicated to admiring, through steep paths, the wild beauty of the place.

Why this area is called "gypsy" is not known. There is talk of nomads who have lived here but there are not some sources historical, which instead indicate the presence of a colony from Lombard in the thirteenth century.

Book your apartament in San Vito lo Capo and go to the discovery of this magnificent nature reserve.