The tonnara at Scopello and its faraglioni

A tonnara was a tuna trap and the factory that processed the catch, and this one worked from the Middle Ages until the middle of the twentieth century. What is left is a long low building of warm stone with a watchtower behind it, a slipway, and a small stone terrace right on the water — and rising out of the sea a few metres away, three limestone stacks with scrub growing on their tops.

The composition here is unusually easy: the buildings give a horizontal band of warm ochre, the water is very clear and turns from turquoise to deep blue, and the stacks provide the verticals. Almost any framing works, which is not something you can say about many places.

Morning is the right time. The cove faces roughly north-east, so early light hits the stacks and the front of the tonnara while the water is still glassy; by afternoon the buildings are in their own shade and the sea picks up wind. In winter the swell breaks over the terrace and the whole place changes character.

The tonnara is privately owned, charges for entry and keeps its own seasonal hours, and the little beach below it is small and fills quickly in summer. The Zingaro nature reserve begins a couple of kilometres north with its own gate and hours. Check both before building a session around them.