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20-418: The island of Favignana ( Aegusa ), the largest, lies 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) southwest of Trapani; Levanzo ( Phorbantia ) lies 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) west; and Marettimo , the ancient Hiera Nesos , 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of Trapani, is now reckoned as a part of the group. There are also two minor islands, Formica and Maraone , lying between Levanzo and Sicily. For administrative purposes

40-472: A much larger Carthaginian fleet of 400 ships, with the Romans sinking 120 Carthaginian vessels and taking 10,000 prisoners. So many dead Phoenicians washed ashore on the northeastern part of Favignana that the shoreline there acquired the name "Red Cove" ( Cala Rossa ) from the bloodshed. The Romans took possession of the island under the terms of the treaty that ended the war. In the early Middle Ages, Favignana

60-583: Is derived from Favonio , an Italian name for the foehn wind . The Phoenicians established an outpost on the island as a stopping point on their trans- Mediterranean trading routes until the defeat of the Carthaginian army during the First Punic War . On 10 March 241 BC, a major naval battle was fought a short distance offshore between the two powers. Two hundred Roman ships under the consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus met and decisively defeated

80-692: The Italian -born descendants of the first Norman conquerors to travel to Southern Italy in the first half of the eleventh century. While maintaining much of their distinctly Norman piety and customs of war, they were shaped by the diversity of Southern Italy, by the cultures and customs of the Greeks , Lombards , and Arabs in Sicily. Normans first arrived in Italy as pilgrims, probably on their way to or returning from either Rome or Jerusalem , or from visiting

100-558: The 20th century, Favignana's economy slumped between the two World Wars and many inhabitants emigrated to the mainland and abroad. The fishery declined with the rise of factory fishing after World War II . Thanks to the Parodi brothers, who bought the factory—after the troubles of the Florio family—tuna fishing continued through the 1980s. The factory is now a museum due to the unavoidable decline. The island's fortunes were turned around by

120-489: The Italian Lt. Colonel surrendered it along with Levanzo and Marittimo islands and their garrisons. Favignana is the largest of the three principal Egadi Islands, with a land area of 19.8 square kilometres (7.6 sq mi). The island is often described as having a "butterfly" shape. Favignana town is located on a narrow isthmus connecting the two "wings", which have quite different characteristics. The eastern half of

140-647: The Pallavicini-Rusconi family of Genoa until 1874, when the Florio family of Palermo bought them. 37°58′N 12°12′E  /  37.967°N 12.200°E  / 37.967; 12.200 Favignana#Island Favignana ( Sicilian : Faugnana ) is a comune including three islands (Favignana, Marettimo and Levanzo ) of the Aegadian Islands , southern Italy . It is situated approximately 18 kilometres (11 miles) west of

160-465: The advent of tourism from the late 1960s onwards. During World War II , American Forces under Gen. Patton drove the Axis forces from Sicily. Two American officers, Lt. Louis Testa, and Capt. R.E. Gerard, were a two-man ‘expedition’ which ‘captured' the three Aegadian Islands and 1027 prisoners. The officers went over from a Sicilian fishing boat, which they paid $ 3. They went ashore on Favignana Island and

180-525: The ancient fishing technique of tonnara , with the trapping and mattanza (slaughter) of bluefin tuna . It hosts the historical Tonnara di Favignana . As the island consists mainly of calcareous rocks, there are few beaches on the island; however, it is a popular site for scuba diving , snorkeling , and for day trips from nearby Trapani. Italo-Normans The Italo-Normans ( Italian : Italo-Normanni ), or Siculo-Normans ( Siculo-Normanni ) when referring to Sicily and Southern Italy , are

200-423: The archipelago constitutes the comune of Favignana in the province of Trapani . The overall population in 2017 was 4,292. Winter frost is unknown and rainfall is low. The main occupation of the islanders is fishing, and the largest tuna fishery in Sicily is there. There is evidence of Neolithic and even Paleolithic paintings in caves on Levanzo, and to a lesser extent on Favignana. The islands were

220-536: The coast of Sicily , between Trapani and Marsala , the coastal area where the Stagnone Lagoon and the international airport of Trapani, are sited. The island of Favignana is famous for its tuna fisheries and is now a popular tourist destination with frequent hydrofoil connections to the mainland. In ancient times Favignana was called Aegusa , meaning "goat island" in Greek (Αιγούσα). The present name

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240-748: The economy of the island, prompting the establishment of the modern town of Favignana around the Castello San Giacomo. In 1874, the Pallavicino family sold the Aegadian Islands to Ignazio Florio , the son of a wealthy mainland industrialist, for two million liras. He invested heavily in Favignana and built a major tuna cannery on the island, bringing prosperity to many of the inhabitants. Calcarenite quarries were also opened with stone being exported to Tunisia and Libya . During

260-580: The island is largely flat, while the western half is dominated by a chain of hills of which Monte Santa Caterina is the tallest at 314 metres (1,030 feet). It is topped by a fort, originally established by the Saracens. It was used by the Italian military and closed to the public. It has now been abandoned. A number of small islands are situated off the south coast of Favignana. The island is famous for its caves of calcarenite rock (locally known as "tufo") and

280-529: The islands were granted to one Giovanni de Karissima, who adopted the grand title "Baron of Tuna". The plentiful tuna fish found offshore were first exploited systematically under the Spanish from about the 17th century onwards. Facing severe financial problems from their ongoing wars, the Spanish sold the islands to the Marquis Pallavicino of Genoa in 1637. The Pallavicini substantially developed

300-574: The same rule for the first time since Justinian's brief reconquest of the peninsula as a whole. The Norman dynasty established by Roger II continued with William I , and then William II. After the latter's death without heirs in 1189, and following the brief reign of his illegitimate cousin Tancred of Lecce, the German Emperor Henry VI of Swabia (who had married Constance , aunt and legitimate successor of William II) conquered

320-617: The scene of the battle of the Aegates of 241 BC, in which the Carthaginian fleet was defeated by the Roman fleet led by Lutatius Catulus ; the engagement ended the First Punic War . After the end of Western Roman power in the first millennium AD, the islands, to the extent that they were governed at all, were part of territories of Goths , Vandals , Saracens , before the Normans fortified Favignana in 1081. The islands belonged to

340-707: The shrine at Monte Gargano , during the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. In 1017, the Lombard lords in Apulia recruited their assistance against the dwindling power of the Byzantine Catapanate of Italy . They soon established vassal states of their own and began to expand their conquests until they were encroaching on the Lombard principalities of Benevento and Capua , Saracen -controlled territories, as well as Greek, and territory under papal allegiance. Their conquest of Sicily, which began in 1061,

360-401: The whole of their conquests on the peninsula and the island. Between 1135 and 1155 Roger II also created an Italo-Norman Kingdom of Africa in coastal Tunisia and Tripolitania . He intended to unite this African kingdom with his Kingdom of Sicily, but his untimely death in 1154 put an end to these plans. When founded in 1130, this Italo-Norman kingdom united the whole of Southern Italy under

380-521: Was captured by Arabs and was used as a base for the Islamic conquest of Sicily . The Saracens constructed a castle on top of the tallest hill called Santa Caterina. Soon after, the Normans took possession of the island, and built fortifications there in 1081. Under the Aragonese rulers of Sicily, Favignana and the other Aegadian Islands were hired out to Genoese merchants and in the 15th century

400-816: Was completed by 1091. Italo-Normans were the primary Norman mercenaries in the employ of the Byzantine emperors , and many found service in Rome under the pope. Some went to Spain to join the Reconquista , and in 1096 the Normans of Bohemond of Taranto joined the First Crusade and set up the principality of Antioch in the Levant . In 1130 under Roger II , they created the Kingdom of Sicily , encompassing

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