Plemmirio Nature Reserve
The Riserva del Plemmirio , the "wavy sea" sung by Virgil and located in front of that stretch of coast that plunges into the "Greek sea", is the promontory on the Syracusan coast that gave its name to Marine Protected Area of the Maddalena Peninsula .
The stretch of coast that includes the Marine Protected Area bears witness to a glorious past: here are the Greek Latomies , from where the stone was extracted to build the polis and the majestic temples of Apollo and Athena. At Punta della Mola there is a Bronze Age necropolis with traces of the adjoining village. It was the gateway to the ancient Hellenic East, where war events also took place, such as the famous Athenian expedition against Syracuse in 415 BC. As evidence of this past are the wrecks and various archaeological finds preserved today in the “Paolo Orsi” museum in Syracuse.
The peninsula of La Maddalena rises above the sea with walls up to about 50 meters high. The cliff, sculpted by the sea and the wind, takes on a jagged appearance: one of the most photographed rocks is the " scoglio dell'Elefante ", located on the north side of the marine area. A series of very important caves have also developed on the high cliff. Of particular interest is the Grotta Pellegrina . & Nbsp;
The Maddalena peninsula culminates in the mighty Capo Murro di Porco , characterized by high cliffs that drop sheer down to the sea, which has always been an essential point of reference for sailors and is marked by a Lighthouse dating back to 1859 . The intense tectonic activity has also produced very large cracks, the potholes, especially near Capo di Murro di Porco, where the compressed air from the wave motion in the ravines of the cliffs comes out with a sound effect called the " breath of the sea "," soffione "or more commonly by Syracusans" 'u sciusciuni ", and where the breaking of the waves due to the hydro-pneumatic effect causes spectacular splashes of water on the ground similar to geygers.
The Plemmirio is also famous for its wonderful seabed . The conformation of the seabed is very varied: it goes from shallow waters to depths that immediately reach 40 meters. The underwater interest is given by the presence of numerous shoals, inlets and caves dug by the course of time in the bare white and limestone rock. They offer spectacular scenery and are home to many marine species: solitary corals, sponges, sea cicadas, schools of barracudas, white bream, sea bream, amberjacks and families of groupers. In the depths of this area live the largest shells in the Mediterranean .
From Capo Murro di Porco annually observations of large pelagic fish such as tuna, amberjack, are held. sharks and marine mammals such as dolphins, whales and sperm whales.
