Favignana‘s history, culture and tradition have their roots in the Ex Stabilimento Florio, located a stone’s throw from the island’s historic centre. A good 32,000 square metres make this tonnara one of the largest in the Mediterranean Sea. Purchased by the influential Florio family in 1841 from the Genoese Pallavicini family, it was renovated by the architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda in 1874, who had the entire structure enlarged and a tuna storage building constructed. The storage process, which followed the boiling and canning phases, was a modern procedure at the time.
Still visible today are the 24 boilers where tuna was cut and dried, and the large room where milk was processed with welding machines and other devices. Thanks to this renovation, fishing and the market for bluefin tuna were immediately successful, taking the Florios to the highest levels of production. The tonnara was later managed by other families and in 1991, it was bought by the Region of Sicily. The Trapani Cultural and Environmental Heritage Superintendency transformed it into an excellent example of industrial archaeology.
The exhibition areas include an Archaeological Museum, which collects a number of artefacts found on the Egadi Islands, such as amphorae and other objects from prehistoric times, as well as a cephalous statue and the Fiasca del Pellegrino, an example of a Roman rostrum. A small section is dedicated to the Florio family: two holographic installations form the death chamber, where you can learn about the history of the people who worked in the former factory. There is also a permanent exhibition of the greatest photographers from the Magnum agency, educational panels on tuna processing and the ‘oil room’, which contains the tins where the fish was preserved. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 11.30 p.m.; the entrance ticket is €4 and can be purchased at the museum. Admission is free for children under 18.