A mandracchio is a small sheltered harbour reserved for the mooring of small boats and fishing vessels. Many mandracchios are found in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, including at Ancona, Genoa, La Spezia and Muggia.

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and Trieste also had mandracchios, but they no longer exist. Mandracchios were also found elsewhere in the Mediterranean, including in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. The cities of Naples, Livorno and San Benedetto del Tronto still have districts called ''Mandracchio''. In Greece, the harbour of Rhodes and the towns of Mandràki Nisyrou in Nisyros and Mandràki Serròn in Serres include ''mandràki'' (), the Greek word for mandracchio, in their names. An area in

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, Malta is also known as the

Manderaggio The Manderaggio () is a neighbourhood in Valletta, Malta. It is located behind the Manderaggio Curtain of the fortifications of Valletta, on the side of Marsamxett Harbour. Originally intended as a mandracchio for galleys, it became a slum area ...

().

Etymology

The name ''mandracchio'' comes from ''mandria'', the Italian word for "herd", since boats in a mandracchio were gathered like a herd, to occupy as little space as possible.

References

Ports and harbours {{port-stub