Croton and Syracuse: the Ionian coast takes centre stage in the fifth edition of Invisible Mediterranean(s) 2023, in its Calabrian and Sicilian interpretations. From the coastline overlooking the Ionian side and defining the city’s natural boundary, we moved on to the plain line, shaped by the Esaro river which originates in the hills of Cutro and winds through the Crotonese territory until it flows into the sea, leaving behind its torrential nature to become a proper river near the port. Together with Stefania Argenti, Superintendent for Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Catanzaro and Crotone, we visited one of Crotone’s most evocative places, Capo Colonna. The  port, as an enabling infrastructure for tourism and economic development, was the subject of a talk with Andrea Agostinelli, President of the Port System Authority of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas, and Alessandro Guerri, delegated director of Crotone Port Authority. We visited the municipal square of Crotone, the Museum of the Sea and Myths, the Archaeological Park of Capo Colonna, and the Sailing Club.

On the Sicilian side, we visited two natural harbours, Megarese and Xifonio, and a very distinctive historic centre located on an island created by cutting through an isthmus in the 16th century for defensive purposes.

We also made a stop by sea at Forte Vittoria, which – together with the nearby Forte Garcia – was built in 1567 at the behest of Viceroy García de Toledo on two rocks emerging within the inner waters of the Megarese Harbour, to strengsten the city’s defences. The choice of Forte Vittoria as a viewpoint was not accidental; it is in fact a privileged place from which it is possible to read the historical, architectural, archaeological, naturalistic, and industrial elements that emerge and coexist, shaping the skyline of this territorial area. 

The water lines that animate and generate inland territories were the focus of the final talk held in the inland area of Syracuse, in Ferla.

The spotlight was on the innovative water recovery and purification system of Ferla, the “Green Wall” project.