The Laghetti di Marinello are part of the Riserva Naturale Orientata Laghi di Marinello and are located in the shade of the Tindari promontory.
According to one of the many legends, it is said that the beach was miraculously formed following the fall of a little girl from the terrace of the Sanctuary, then found safe and sound on the beach just created for the retreat of the sea. The mother of the child, who had doubted the miraculous nature of the statue because of her dark complexion, had to believe again. It is said that the woman, at the sight of the Black Madonna, was rather disappointed, although the statue of the Madonna of Tindari is decorated with the phrase: nigra sum sed formosa, "I am black but beautiful". Spontaneously the peasant girl exclaimed: "Hàju vinutu di luntana via ppi vidiri a cchiù uglier than mine".
Moreover, it is said that the girl, when she was found on the beaches of Marinello, was playing with hazelnuts, creating circles on the sand. Still today, in memory of that legend, you can buy hazelnut necklaces in the stalls of Tindari.
The small lakes of Marinllo represent, with the lakes of Ganzirri, the only examples in north-western Sicily of brackish coastal environment.
