The Florio Tuna Fishery
of Favignana
History, mattanza and museum: the cultural heart of the most fascinating island of the Egadi Islands. More than a museum — a journey through time.
The Island · History
There is a building in Favignana that, more than any beach or panorama, tells the profound soul of the island.
The Ex Florio Plant of the Tuna Fisheries of Favignana and Formica is much more than a museum: it is the place where centuries of history, work, ingenuity and identity converge. It is a secular cathedral built for tuna and for the men who fished it. With its 32,000 square meters of surface, majestic arches in local tuff and ceilings so high they resemble the naves of a church, the plant is a jewel of industrial archaeology unique in the Mediterranean.
Entering here means taking a journey through time: the mattanza boats are still in their place, the nets, the anchors, the machinery for tuna processing — everything is as if time had stood still. And the history it tells is extraordinary: that of a visionary family, the Florios, who transformed an island of fishermen into the beating heart of the tuna industry in the Mediterranean.
The Family
The Florios: the family that
changed the destiny of an island
From Calabria to the conquest of the Mediterranean: the saga of a family that transformed tuna fishing into an industrial empire, and Favignana into the world capital of tuna fishery.
From Calabria to the Conquest of Palermo
The saga of the Florios begins at the end of the eighteenth century, when Paolo Florio, originally from Calabria, moves to Palermo and opens a spice shop importing coffee, cocoa, cinnamon and quinine from all over the world. At his death in 1807, his brother Ignazio takes the reins of the company and transforms it into a commercial empire.
Within a few decades the Florios become the richest and most influential family in Sicily: shipowners, bankers, wine producers (Marsala), landowners. Everywhere they looked, they saw an opportunity.
Arrival in Favignana: Vincenzo's Genius
Vincenzo Florio, son of Ignazio, arrives in Favignana and leases the island's tuna fisheries from the Pallavicini marquises. Vincenzo is not a simple entrepreneur: he is an innovator. He introduces the montaleva, a revolutionary system for the gradual capture of tuna, and experiments with new conservation methods in oil.
His intuition transforms tuna fishing from a seasonal activity into a modern industry. Nothing from the tuna is wasted: from the meat to bottarga, from the roe to the bones. A circular economy before its time.
The Plant and Glory
Ignazio Florio, son of Vincenzo, purchases the entire Egadi Islands and calls architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda for the renovation of the plant. Thus is born the largest tuna processing plant in the Mediterranean. Ignazio introduces the method of preserving tuna boiled and canned in oil, revolutionizing the canning industry.
The plant becomes the economic engine of Favignana: during periods of maximum activity it employs up to 900 workers between men and women. At the Universal Exposition of 1891-92, Florio presents innovative cans with key-opening — an avant-garde idea for the time.
The Closure and Rebirth as a Museum
The early decades of the twentieth century bring the decline of the Florio family, plagued by losses and financial setbacks. In 1937 the tuna fishery is sold to the Genoese Parodi family, who continue the activity for some decades. But the world has changed: industrial fishing and flying trawlers with radar make the traditional system no longer competitive.
For over twenty years the plant remains abandoned. Then the Sicilian Region acquires it: the restoration, costing over 14 million euros, concludes in 2009 with the opening of the museum — almost 20,000 square meters returned to the community as a living testament to an irreplaceable era.
The Ritual
The Mattanza: the ritual
most ancient in the Mediterranean
The word "mattanza" comes from the Latin mactare, to kill. But reducing it to this meaning would be like saying that a mass is only a series of words. The mattanza was a collective ritual, sacred and profane, that every year between May and June transformed the waters of Favignana into a stage of fatigue, courage, prayer and death.
The Tuna Fishery
A masterpiece of marine engineering
A labyrinth of nets was lowered into the sea as early as April, positioned strategically along the migration route of red tuna. The nets formed a series of "chambers" connected: the tuna entered following their migratory instinct and were guided, chamber after chamber, until the chamber of death. The numbers were impressive: 300 anchors, 3,500 floats, 360,000 square meters of nets.
The Rais
The shaman of the sea
At the center of everything was the Rais — from the Arabic "capo," chief — a figure halfway between a leader, a priest and a shaman. With his gaze he scrutinized the sea and read the movements of the tuna below the surface. He gave orders with arm gestures, with a whistle, even with a glance. The success of the catch depended entirely on his experience and his almost divinatory ability to understand the sea.
The Cialome
The songs that moved the sea
Of Arabic origin, the cialome were the ritual songs of the tuna fishermen: melodies that rhythmed the synchronized movements of the men and invoked divine protection. The most famous is the Aiamola — from the Arabic "ai ya mawla," O my Lord. A soloist led the narrative part and the choir answered. Prayers to St. Anthony, patron of tuna fisheries, intertwined with invocations between the sacred and the profane.
The Chamber of Death
The culminating moment
At the Rais's sign, the tuna fishermen began to lift the net with only the force of their arms, forcing the tuna to surface. The fish, enormous and powerful, struggled violently as they were harpooned and hoisted aboard. The sea turned red. It was a spectacle similar to a Greek tragedy: the primordial struggle of man with nature. The last mattanza in Favignana took place in the first decade of the 2000s.
In the mattanza there was no abuse: there was the recognition that that tuna was the very life of the island. Men did not hunt — they participated in a ritual that bound them to the sea, to their fathers, and to something far more ancient than themselves.
From the testimony of an elderly tuna fishermanWhat to See
The Museum Today:
what to see and what to expect
Visiting the Ex Florio Plant is an experience that engages all the senses. It is not a static museum with display cases and panels: it is an immersive journey in a place that exudes history from every stone of tuff.
The Spaces
Offices, warehouses, carpentry, workshops, locker rooms, the hold, the machinery gallery, the trizzana and the malfaraggio. Each room tells a piece of the production chain. The arches in local tuff give the whole an atmosphere that is majestic, almost sacred.
Archaeology and Artifacts
Amphorae of various historical periods, an acephalous statue, the famous "pilgrim's flask" from the 14th century (with the wine still inside), and the bronze rostra and helmets from the Battle of the Egadi of 241 BC — the battle that ended the First Punic War.
Multimedia Installations
In the former Hold, a video installation gathers testimonies from elderly workers. Two holographic installations recreate the chamber of death and the atmosphere of the mattanza with great suggestiveness.
The House of Oil
Where tuna cans were filled by hand with olive oil, today hosts a collection of vintage tins of every shape and size — a little history of Italian industrial design.
The Boats of the Mattanza
The large boats, the nets, the anchors, the 24 cauldrons for cooking tuna and the Lancia of Donna Franca Florio, a wooden vessel 6 meters long built by English shipwrights at the end of the nineteenth century.
Sea Turtle Recovery Center
Within the complex a First Aid Center for Caretta caretta sea turtles has been set up, managed in collaboration with WWF Italy and Legambiente. Another reason to visit it, especially with children.
Our Advice
Visit it in the late afternoon
When the light filters through the tuff arches and creates a magical atmosphere that no photograph can truly capture. The golden light of the afternoon mingles with the long shadows of the arches, transforming the industrial spaces into something almost sacred.
Take the guided tour: the stories of the tuna fishermen told by the guides make the experience completely different from an independent visit. To our guests we recommend dedicating them on the first or second day: after the visit, you will look at the sea of Favignana with new eyes.
On the official website tonnarafloriodifavignana.it a 360° virtual tour is also available for those who want to discover it before arriving.
Practical Information
How to Visit
the Florio Tuna Fishery
5 minutes walk from the port, adjacent to Praia beach
Summer: 10:00–13:30 and 17:00–23:00
Low season: 10:00–14:00 and 16:00–20:00
Always check updated hours before your visit
Combined ticket Florio Museum + Florio Palace: €12
On sale only at the museum
With guided tour: about 2 hours
Why It's Worth It
The Florio Tuna Fishery will Change the Way You See Favignana
Many tourists come to Favignana only for the sea, and it's not hard to understand why: the beaches are among the most beautiful in Italy. But whoever visits the Florio Tuna Fishery discovers a completely different island — a place with historical and cultural depth that transforms a seaside vacation into something much more meaningful.
After the visit, you will understand why tuna here has a different flavor, why the elderly speak of the mattanza with tears in their eyes, why the houses on the island are built in tuff, why fishermen look at the sea with a mix of respect and nostalgia.
Opening hours and prices may vary year to year. We recommend always checking the updated information before your visit on tonnarafloriodifavignana.it.
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