To head to Porticello, a small fishing village on the Tyrrhenian Sea about 45 minutes from Polizzi for a long seafood lunch at ll Faro Verde, a restaurant by the village’s port, is a nice way to spend a few hours on a warm spring afternoon.

The SS120, a couple of kilometres out of Polizzi, meanders down the mountains past old baronial farming estates and green fields until it joins the fast arterial, the A19. The A19 snakes the valley floor and once it hits the coast the exit for Porticello is not far.

The charming exit road to Porticello, the SS113, winds its way to the village’s narrow streets which are flanked by small coloured houses.

The restaurant, Il Faro Verde, run by four brothers, sits at the end of the wide open space, Largo San Nicolicchio. It faces the sea.

We took a table for three only metres from the clear blue water and a line of brightly coloured old wooden fishing boats. A bottle of Geraci pure spring water from the Madonie Mountains was brought to the table. And a bottle of dry white wine, Le Arbe from the Sicilian winery, Ceuso, near Segesta, was recommended for the main course: whole fresh snapper baked in a crust of salt. The salt crust, the waiter told us, contains the sweet flavours of the white fleshed fish. Before we chose the main course the waiter brought a large tray filled with fresh seafood: large prawns, bream and snapper.

As we waited for the whole baked snapper we shared plates of antipasto: whole baby octopus cooked in a mildly spiced tomato sauce, fresh anchovies marinated in olive oil and lemon, fish balls topped with ‘agrodolce’:  a perfectly balanced sweet and sour onion sauce. And, we watched fishing trawlers returning to the port, with their catch, followed by flocks of seagulls.

Between courses we wandered past the coloured boats and walked to the little bay where holiday homes hug the crystal clear water’s edge and we took in the views along the coastline.

And, dessert was a homemade semifreddo made with strawberries and, topped with forest berries and mint, it was the perfect nod to the coming summer.

Salve,

Suzanne