It is the greek historian Polybius to tell in detail the events of the first Punic War . He says that after 23 years of conflict , given the inaction of the central government , a group of citizens decided to set up a fleet from its own resources to deal with the Carthaginian forces . They are built 200 ships and 60,000 enlisted sailors. At the command of the consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus , on March 10, 241 BC you have the decisive battle . The Romans captured 70 enemy ships , while another fifty sinks during the fighting. The North African power is forced to leave Sicily , and soon after the ignominious defeat, Admiral Hanno condemns the torture of the cross. With state coffers empty now try to get a loan from the king of Egypt to continue the challenge that has to be won supremacy in the Mediterranean, but in the end Hamilcar Barca must sign an onerous peace treaty. The place of cruentissimo conflict occurs off the coast of Egusa , namely in the mirror of Cala Rossa , which according to legend is called so just a reminder of the color taken from the water due to the incredible amount of blood spilled by the opposing armies .
On the seabed in the area are still dozens of wrecks of ships sunk . But the costs of underwater research make it very expensive for their recovery. On the other hand, when they return to the surface, would arise serious technical problems of conservation of wooden remains , that without complex treatments are condemned to disappear in no time. In any case it is of 26 June 2008, the return to the light of a fragment of that page crucial : a bronze ram used as a means to break through to create some holes in the sides of enemy units. Today the island is witness to the epic conflict known by the name of Favignana , chosen to pay homage to the foehn , the hot, dry wind that caresses along most of the year. It is the older sister of the Egadi Islands , the archipelago that also includes Trapani Marettimo , Levanzo and two rocks of Formica and Maraone .
Its shape evokes the features of a butterfly resting on the water with the high ground in the center of St. Catherine and two large wings on the sides of limestone plateau . It is inhabited by 7,000 years , or since , with the melting of ice and rising seas , is detached from the Trinacria away from the coast about 8 miles. The main wealth of the territory consists of the " mafia " , a term of Arabic origin who here does not indicate Cosa Nostra and the men of honor but simply the tufa quarries . It is a resource of known and used since ancient times , as revealed by the archaeological area of St. Nicholas, where are the remains of a kind of pool called " the women´s bathroom ."
The collection and processing of local white stone features a bit ´all the epochs marked by the domination that follow . It starts with the Arabs, as revealed in the ruins of the Tower and the castle of San Leonardo. Continuing the Normans , who with Roger II strengthens the defensive works Muslim and he erected the fortress of San Giacomo . Other signs indisputable leave Angevins , Spanish and Liguria. The working techniques are perpetuated without major changes over the centuries. The ritual always begins at dawn . A group of stone-cutters , which are in the local vernacular pirriaturi , reaches the mining area . Next to them are moving laborers, teamsters and sailors , called the transport of the material. The activity is piecework . The pay varies fact, depending on the number of blocks made throughout the day. It is therefore not uncommon along with his father operate children and grandchildren, including those at an early age . As for meals, often boil down to bread and onion or dried figs. The most used tool is the werewolf , a particular kind of ax to mark the traces on the porous walls of biocalcarenite and then obtain the blocks. Which I will move with the maganeddu , ie a winch of wood, and through the manhole reach the scafazzi , ie the large boats with oars or sail covering the various trade routes starting from Puntazza , Ravine, Canaleddi , Punta Marsala Bue Marino and other coastal ports .
The development of the economy this item lasts until the middle of last century . Then , despite technological developments, begins a gradual decline. On the one hand the logistical costs are becoming increasingly prohibitive. On the other workers prefer to seek employment in the diverse world of tourism , which promises more decent wages and especially less fatigue . The deposits tufacei nevertheless continue to play an important role , although in very different conditions . The machines that replace the old tools they guarantee a production is not negligible , even without requiring the labor of the past.
Source: alibionline.it
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