Born for commercial needs linked to the export of sulfur and salt, for years now Porto Empedocle has been a seaport with a prevalent tourist vocation: pivot of connections with Linosa and Lampedusa and equipped for nautical pleasure (floating docks; electricity; water; repairs; dock lighting etc.).
There are three piers: in addition to the two on the east and west, there is the internal pier named after the patriot of the Risorgimento Francesco Crispi which divides the Porto Vecchio and the area in two Outer port.
With the ferry it takes about 6h. to reach Linosa; 9h for Lampedusa. With fast vehicles, however, the times are halved: 3h approx. for Linosa; 4h 15min to Lampedusa. Unlike the ferry, however, hydrofoil connections are only guaranteed during the summer.
There are several transport companies that connect Porto Empedocle with the capital Agrigento (see below) and the main Sicilian cities (see "Airport - Port" connections):
Taxis and NCCs are available on the territory
Porto Empedocle can be reached by bus from all 4 Sicilian airports:
From Palermo several regional trains depart daily for Agrigento. The journey is about 2h. From Agrigento it is possible, then, to continue in the direction of Porto Empedocle by bus (see "How to reach the port - Bus").
Guarded and authorized parking for Linosa / Lampedusa ferries
Mobile : 3337923049/3891194128
The ticket office is located in Via Molo, 5 inside the port area.
Near the port of Porto Empedocle there are various activities: bars; restaurants; pizzerias; fishmonger; food; frozen foods; sporting articles; clothes shops; rental boats etcetera.
The city of Luigi Pirandello and Andrea Camilleri, without of course forgetting Empedocle, a philosopher and politician of the fifth century BC. C., hence the name of the municipality. A few hints, however sufficient to explain the great charm of Porto Empedocle, in the province of Agrigento.
However, we would be wrong to only enhance the cultural aspects of the territory. Porto Empedocle, in fact, is a city rich in history: before tourism, for example, the local economy revolved around the export of sulfur and rock salt. The port, of course, was the fundamental hub of these trades which, together with fishing, gave a living to most of the inhabitants.
Analogous speech for therailway station: immediately after the unification of Italy, the strengthening of the railway line with Agrigento contributed a lot to the development of the city. Today the Porto Empedocle Centrale and Succursale stations, although no longer operational, are reopened to the public on special occasions, such as the "Almond Blossom Festival", a cultural event in February that attracts thousands of visitors to Agrigento and its surroundings. coming from the rest of Sicily and from outside the region.
Also historical is the Tower of Charles V, a 16th century coastal tower with a sighting and defense function against the assaults of Turkish piracy. Those same Turks who gave the name to the Scala dei Turchi, a rocky wall overlooking the sea made popular by the novels and fiction of Commissario Montalbano, a character from the pen of Camilleri.
Mention also due for the beaches (Spiaggia del Caos, Marinella, Lido Azzurro etc.), the busy historic center (very beautiful Palazzo di Città, seat of the Town Hall) and the gastronomy with a double soul of land and sea.