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00 Riposto
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.

Best time
May–Oct
By car
29 min from Catania
By train
Station in the comune
Population
14,007

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

  • J15°
  • F16°
  • M16°
  • A19°
  • M23°
  • J28°
  • J32°
  • A31°
  • S27°
  • O23°
  • N20°
  • D16°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

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

Riposto is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Riposto comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Riposto in our articles

How to get there

From Catania (CTA), about 40 minutes by car.

By car from the centre of Palermo 3 hours.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming by train into Catania Centrale? Riposto is about 30 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Catania airport.

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

Building a trip? Find where Riposto fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to eat

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
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Catania, 40 min drive
  • Regional capital Palermo, 2 h 59 min drive

Common questions

What is Riposto known for?
Riposto is the Ionian port whose name comes from the Sicilian for cellar, where the wine of Mascali and Giarre was stored before shipping.
Where is Riposto?
Riposto is a comune in the province of Catania, in Sicily, at 6 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Riposto?
Catania (CTA), about 40 minutes by car.
Can you get to Riposto without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Palermo to Riposto?
About 3 hours by car.
When is the best time to visit Riposto?
Best in May–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 20 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Riposto?
The town keeps its patron saint's day: Pietro, 29 June.
Which other towns are like Riposto?
Giarre, Cefalù and Castelvetrano.
How many people live in Riposto?
14,007 at the 2023 count.
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 and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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