Menfi (Sicily): what to see


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What to see in Menfi, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including Castello Svevo, archaeological site and Porto Palo beach.


Tourist information

Located about 100 kilometers from Agrigento, on hilly reliefs about 3 kilometers from the coast, Menfi originated in 1638, with the birth of the first urban nucleus, corresponding to a feudal settlement owned by the baronial property.

The founder of the village was Don Diego Aragona Tagliavia Pignatelli, who brought several families from Sciacca, Sambuca, Partanna, Santa Ninfa and Alcamo, to increase the number of inhabitants.


The place where Menfi was born, in the land of Burgimilluso, has been inhabited since prehistoric times, some burials and an acropolis of a late bronze-woodland pastoral community were found near the mouth of the Belice river, in Montagnoli.

In the late Roman age there was already a settlement in the area corresponding to the current historic center.

Following the conquest of Sicily by Muslims, Burgiomilluso was born, a village of good and abundant water, which soon became one of the richest agricultural colonies in the area.


Around 1239, Emperor Frederick II of Swabia had a castle built, of which only a tower is visible today, the result of a reconstruction, following the damage suffered after the 1968 earthquake, which reproduced the ancient volumetry by incorporating the remains of the base of the ancient tower.

What see

The city has a seventeenth-century checkerboard layout, characterized by wide and short internal paths, with extensions dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The 1968 earthquake, which affected the Belice Valley, caused considerable damage to the city and part of its inhabited center was transferred to a new settlement, located in a geographical area located further north.


Menfi, which has maintained the characteristics of a rural town over time, is renowned for its wine production, which is why the Inycon takes place every year, a traditional festival dedicated to Menfi wine.

From a tourist point of view, the whole area of ​​Menfi has a strong appeal, thanks to the presence of interesting archaeological areas and seaside resorts, including that of Porto Palo.

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The coast of Menfi extends over the coastal stretch between Capo Granitola and Capo San Marco, where the beach is low and characterized by white sand, with dunes gently shaped by the African wind.

The seaside village of Porto Palo, an ancient landing place for the Greeks of Selinunte, overlooks the silent coast lapped by the clear sea, which has been awarded by the Fee Italia with the blue flag.

Environment of considerable naturalistic and landscape interest, the Foce del Belice Nature Reserve, which extends between Marinella di Selinunte and Porto Palo di Menfi, confirms its importance.

MEETING WONDERFUL SICILIANS - Sciacca And Menfi | Sicilian Vibes Ep. 3 (February 2024)


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