Capo di Milazzo

Wild promontory at the tip of the peninsula with sea caves and cliff paths

The Capo di Milazzo is the tip of the peninsula beyond the castle — a rough, scrub-covered headland that ends in cliffs above clear water. A lighthouse marks the cape; the walking path along the cliff edge takes about 45 minutes each way from the castle and gives views in every direction across the Tyrrhenian. The Aeolians are directly visible to the north.

The small bay of Tono on the western side of the promontory has a beach popular with local swimmers. The water around the cape is exceptionally clear, and snorkelling around the base of the cliffs reveals several small sea caves. This is one of the better stretches of coast in this part of Sicily, considerably less crowded than the Aeolians themselves.

things to do sight
A story
The ancient Greeks called this headland Mylae and used it as the setting for one of the most consequential naval battles of the ancient world. In 260 BC, the Roman admiral Gaius Duilius defeated the Carthaginian fleet here — Rome's first major naval victory — using a novel device called the corvus, a spiked boarding bridge that allowed Roman soldiers to turn a sea battle into something closer to a land fight. The victory was celebrated in Rome with a column in the Forum decorated with the prows of captured Carthaginian ships.

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