- Catania – San Giovanni Li Cuti
Pocket beach code: SIC93CT01
This Pocket Beach (PB) is located in eastern Sicily, in the Province of Catania, in the San Giovanni Li Cuti area. It falls within the Physiographic Unit N 4, which is between Capo Schisò in the north and the port of Catania in the south.
The PB is delimited by the small port of San Giovanni Li Cuti in the north and by a southern promontory where the locomotive depot of Catania is present, it is therefore a semi-natural PB. There is no cliff behind it, nor any watercourse.
The entire area is surrounded by the flow of 1381, which consists of basaltic alkalis, Hawaiis, phonolithic tefrites and basic mugearites. Other lava flows are present in the South, including recent pyroclastites, mainly undated. A little further north, along the coast, the flow of 425 BC emerges, which sees the predominance of Hawaiites and phonolithic tefrites.
From the granulometric point of view, the beach is made up of boulders that reach 50 cm in diameter, dark in color and with a purely volcanic compositional nature.
- Acireale – Grotta delle Colombe
Pocket beach code: SIC94CT02
The Pocket Beach (PB) is located in eastern Sicily, in the municipality of Acireale (Province of Catania), in Santa Maria la Scala. It falls within the Physiographic Unit N 4, which is between Capo Schisò in the north and the port of Catania in the south.
The PB is delimited to the north by the small port of Santa Maria la Scala and to the south by a little pronounced promontory, therefore it is a semi-natural PB.
The geological context, given the proximity to Etna, is attributable to volcanic lithologies; to the west, in fact, there are the ancient eruptive centers consisting of heavily degraded lava, to the north, lava flows and pyroclastites emerge. Instead, the area behind the PB consists of a small holocene alluvial deposit.
The beach shows sediments of varying sizes, in fact, while the entire central and southern portion of the PB consists of coarse pebbles and boulders, the small embankment of the marina has grain sizes that vary from coarse sands to medium-fine pebbles. The color of the sediments is dark due to its volcanic nature.
- Acireale – Santa Tecla
Pocket beach code: SIC95CT03
This Pocket Beach (PB) is located in eastern Sicily, in the municipality of Acireale (Province of Catania), and precisely in Santa Tecla. It falls within the Physiographic Unit N 4, which is between Capo Schisò in the north and the port of Catania in the south.
The PB is delimited by two promontories that make the PB exposed above all to winds from the east. There is no cliff behind it, nor any watercourse.
To the south, the landscape is dominated by lava flows and recent pyroclastites, mainly undated, while in the north, lavas with well-preserved surface morphology emerge (basal alkalis, Hawaiites, phonolytic tefrites).
Inland there is heavily degraded lava (sometimes terraced), stratified yellow-brown tuffs and alternating lavas and pyroclastites of varying thickness.
The beach is made up of elements with variable granulometry from gravels to boulders of decimetric dimensions; the color varies from gray to black, while the mineralogical nature is purely volcanic.
