There is one of the most ancient histories of Sicily and there is the uncontaminated Mediterranean scrub, the special setting for a timeless place.
Dock to Porto Turistico di Marina di Ragusa and amongst the many wonders of this part of Sicily there is Cava d’Ispica.
Between Modica and Ispica and in the province of Ragusa, arise one of the most important naturalistic and archaeological structures of the island. A few kilometers away from our blue flagged Marina di Ragusa, Cava d’Ispica is a necessary stop-over if you want to experience the most ancient and pure Sicily, with its archeological site, hundreds of animal species and plants that live here.
This narrow valley has become one of the largest rugged structures of our island thanks to the morphology of the cave, the supple limestone, the easy defense position, the proximity with the sea and the existence of a once navigable river network.
You can visit two different parts of the site: Cava d’Ispica Nord and Parco Forza.
In Cava d’Ispica Nord you could discover many ancient testaments like the early Christian catacomb of the Larderia date back from the end of the III and the V century AD, the Hellenistic Gymnasium, the Rugged Church of Saint Mary and its prehistoric necropolis date back to the XI century BC, early Christian catacombs from the IV century AD and rugged residences from the XII/XIII century AD.
On the other hand, Parco Forza is located where once stood the medieval citadel of Spaccaforno, the old name of Ispica. Here there are proofs of a past we must remember, proofs of the various cultures that have followed one another through time, from the prehistoric to the archaic, from the medieval-byzantine to the Rinascimental.