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Stemma di Riposto

Sicily · Catania

Riposto

The Ionian port whose name comes from the Sicilian for cellar, where the wine of Mascali and Giarre was stored before shipping.

Known for

  • THE WINE CELLAR

    Named u ripostu, the cellar, because the wine of Mascali and Giarre was stored here before being shipped from the port.

  • PORTO DELL'ETNA

    The largest marina on the eastern Sicilian coast, fishing and tourist berths in one harbour at the foot of the volcano.

  • JONIA

    Merged with Giarre in 1939 under the fascist-era name Jonia, the two towns split again in 1945.

When to visit

Best · May–Oct

  • J
  • F
  • M
  • A
  • M
  • J
  • J
  • A
  • S
  • O
  • N
  • D
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

The festa: Pietro, 29 June

Why come

Riposto sits on the Ionian coast twenty-five kilometres north of Catania, at the eastern foot of Etna and the southern edge of the Giarre-Riposto conurbation. The name is commercial: u ripostu in Sicilian, the cellar, because the wine produced in the surrounding county of Mascali was stored here before being loaded onto ships. The town was the commercial port of Mascali from the sixteenth century onwards, won full administrative autonomy in the eighteenth, and was merged with neighbouring Giarre under the name Jonia from 1939 until 1945, when the two split again.

Today the Porto dell'Etna, also called Marina di Riposto, runs as a combined tourist marina, fishing port and small commercial harbour. Locals still call the town the port of the volcano. Etna fills the western skyline, the railway runs to Catania along the coast, and the historic centre threads between churches built when the wine trade still paid for them.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Riposto’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

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Riposto — photo 1
Riposto — photo 2

What to see

  • Porto dell'Etna

    The combined tourist marina, fishing and commercial port, the largest pleasure harbour between Catania and Messina.

  • Chiesa Madre San Pietro

    The mother church on the main square, rebuilt in the eighteenth century when Riposto's wine trade financed new construction.

  • Centro storico

    Grid of streets parallel to the seafront, with palazzi and warehouses built during the eighteenth and nineteenth century wine boom.

  • Lungomare

    Seafront promenade along the rocky Ionian shore, with views of Etna inland and the Calabrian coast across the strait.

The slow-trip planner

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We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to — a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • La Cucina di Donna CarmelaRistorante

    Two Gambero Rosso forks (85/100) for La Cucina di Donna Carmela, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Vico AstemioRistorante

    Vico Astemio carries one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • ZashRistorante

    Zash holds one Michelin star and two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100).

Living here

  • Population 14,007
  • Off the beaten pathi
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Sicily, 40 min drive
  • Regional capital Palermo, 2 h 59 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 6 m
  • Population: 14,007
  • Surface area: 13.25 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

Close by

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