Cala Muschi

From cala (“cove”) +‎ muschi (“mosses”), from cala dî muschi.

• IPA^(key): /ˌcalaˈmu.ski/

cala muschi f

1. (hydronym) a cove in Sicily, Italy, specifically placed inside the nature reserve of Vendicari.

• The word muschi seems to mean at first glance the feminine plural of musca (“fly”), so much so that this name ended up being mistakenly translated by the official Italian toponymy as "Cala Mosche", that is "cove of the flies", as well as many other places, including for example Isola delle Femmine.
• In reality this toponym means "cove of mosses", which the semantic Italian outcome would have been "Cala [dei] Muschi", because muschi is the masculine plural of muscu.
• Compare, for more, other mistranslated toponyms from Sicilian to Italian. The exemples are several:

  i monti Rossi in place of i munti Grossi (lit. "the big mounts");

  l'isola delle Femmine in place of l'ìsula di Fimi (lit. "Euphemius's isle");

  costa dell'oro in place of costa d'âḍḍauru (lit. "laurel's slope");

  la Pillirina in place of a Piḍḍigrina (lit. "the (she-)pilgrim");

  (la spiaggia) dei Marianelli in place of (a praja) dî Marianeḍḍi (lit. "the little Maries").

• → Italian: Cala Mosche