Scala dei Turchi
The Scala dei Turchi is a rocky cliff on the coast of Realmonte, near Porto Empedocle, southern Sicily, Italy. It has become a tourist attraction, partly due to its mention in Andrea Camilleri's series of detective stories about Commissario Montalbano.
The Scala is formed by marl, a sedimentary rock with a characteristic white color. It lies between two sandy beaches, and is accessed through a limestone rock formation in the shape of a staircase, hence the name. The latter part of the name derives from the frequent raids carried on by Moors.
In August 2007, the municipality of Realmonte applied for the inclusion of the Scala dei Turchi in the UNESCO Heritage List.
In February 2020, following years of complaints about the poor environmental protection of the site from erosion and tourist vandalism, Italian prosecutors seized control of the site. They ordered its temporary closure for monitoring, and announced that they were investigating a man who claimed ownership of the site in a dispute with the Realmonte local authority.
and shell fragments.
