Portopalo di Capo Passero (Sicilian: Puortupalu) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (Italy). The southernmost commune of the island of Sicily, it is about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Syracuse. As of February 2017, it had a population of 3,916 and an area of . The nearest city is Pachino with a population of nearly 10,000. Portopalo belonged to the municipality of Pachino until 1975 when it became an autonomous municipality itself. Portopalo is widely considered to have some of the best fishing that the Mediterranean area has to offer because of its location, connection of the Ionian and Mediterranean Seas and its temperate climate, which provides average temperatures between 14° and 25 °C.
Isola di Capo Passero
The Isola di Capo Passero is a small island within a short swim of the shores of Portopalo. The primary attraction of the small island is il Fort di Capo Passero. Commissioned in 1599 by the crown of Spain, the fort lies on the highest point of the island of Capo Passero. Developed by Giovanni Antonio del Nobile, a German-sicilian architect, the fort was built to combat the dangers of severe and violent pirate activity in the Mediterranean region. Throughout the years, the fort remained a highly sought after naval resource as it was the guardian of the entrance to Europe. Whoever controlled the fort was considered to control the entrance to Europe. During the 18th century the fort was used as a military prison. However, on December 30, 1866, a Royal Decree halted military prison activity in the fort. In 1871 a lighthouse was built in the terrace of the fort, which was operated by the Italian Navy until it was fully decommissioned in the late 1950s.
Chiesa di St. Gaetano
The Church of San Gaetano has been built since 1927. The main prospect consists of a symmetrical body with regular stone guides; the two sides are topped by spikes. The top part is closed by the tympanum. The entrance portal is entirely made of shaped stone with side columns that support an arch-tympanum. The portal is surmounted by a circular window on the center axis with the front door. There are two terracotta pads on its side. The interior, single nave, has a semi-circular roof covering in canes and plaster; semicircular apse covered with cane also in canes and plaster. Laterally, on the right side, there is the SS chapel. Sacrament of quadrangular shape. Along the side walls, inside arches intertwined with stone pilasters, there are the niches hosting statues of saints. Above the cornices of the side walls open windows on both sides. The bell tower is located at the back of the building, on the left side and is accessed from the back-apse.
Port One Harbor
Planning and design for the Port One harbor project has been initiated by Marina Sud, SRL. The harbor, set to begin construction in 2018, boasts 566 berths with spaces for boats of varying sizes to dock for both short term and long term stays. Also included is 24-hour security provided by both private and governmental sources, water, electricity, and maintenance services, 26 rental apartments, a shopping center, tourist center, and catamaran service to most major Mediterranean cities. Port One is slated to be the first of its kind: a true full-service harbor catering to the world's elite. Port One is expected to serve as an epicenter of Mediterranean travel and provide an ideal source of economic vitality and tourism revenue to the entire Sicilian and Mediterranean regions.
Castello Tafuri
Built in 1935, Castello Tafuri is located on a rocky cliff on the south-eastern coast of Sicily, in front of the island of Capo Passero. It stands on a crystal blue sea and has for many years been the symbol of this small fishing center, today a destination for tourists and surfers.
The commissioner Franjo Bruno of Belmonte entrusted the realization of a villa in the form of a castle to the Florentine architect Crott. Severino Crott (Castiglion Fiorentino, 1886–1972), known for numerous expansions in the style of religious buildings in Tuscany, works for the first time in Sicily on the Castle. The project was drafted between 1933 and 1935 and work began that year. Eventually work was suspended and it remained that way for nearly two decades until 1957 when it was purchased by the Tafuri family. The Tafuri family transformed the property to a hotel facility in 1964 and expanded it between 1971 and 1972. In 1986 the property was leased to a third party where it remained until its closing in 1998. In 2016, the hotel re-opened under the Tafuri name and remains in operation.