Castellammare del Golfo, Coastal town in northern Sicily, Italy.
Castellammare del Golfo is a municipality on the northern coast of Sicily built around a natural harbor and a medieval fortress on a rocky spur. The old town spreads along narrow lanes climbing from the waterfront to the fortified upper quarter, while sandy beaches stretch several kilometers to the east.
The settlement began in the sixth century BC as a trading post for the Greek city of Segesta and served as its gateway to the sea. Over the centuries the place changed hands many times, from the Arabs to the Normans and then the Spanish, who expanded the castle in the fifteenth century.
The castle hosts an ethno-anthropological museum displaying traditional fishing boats and tools used over centuries to catch tuna and sardines. The exhibits sit inside the old guard rooms and convey how local fishermen worked and lived.
The town center is walkable, though steep steps and lanes climb from the harbor up to the castle. Two beaches lie nearby: Cala Petrolo by the fortress and La Plaja, a long sandy beach with sunbed rental and water sports a few kilometers to the east.
The Arabs called the place Al Madarig, meaning The Steps, a reference to the steep lane connecting harbor and upper town. This Arabic name reflects the medieval layout still visible today.
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