Before continuing, if you are planning a visit to
FAVIGNANA,
here you can find some useful resources to choose where to stay, where to eat and what to do nearby.
In the beautiful island of Favignana, at the former plant Florio, are showcasing the beaks of ships that faced each other in the waters of Egadi, great artifacts of exquisite workmanship handed down to us almost intact after centuries spent in the bottom of the sea.
They are the ten bolts, discovered between 2004 and this year, which you can admire in this space as a museum, full of archeological artifacts, utensils and furnishings typical of the slaughter of tuna.
The last recovery took place during the summer just ended, off Levanzo. The rostrum - "Egadi 10" its name, the type trident - is identifiable as the Roman through comparison with the Egadi bolts 7 and 8; brought to light by the team of the RPM Nautical Foundation, specifically, after hooking the precious relic, did the recovery from a depth of 70 meters from the sea about 7 miles to the west of the island of Levanzo, where came the Battle of the Egadi (10 March 241 BC). We will focus later on the clash, offering a historical focus really interesting. Of beaks found, there is one, "Egadi 9", already identified by the experts still lying on the seabed and will soon be recovered, adding, after due cleaning from scale, to those already shown.
Operations have invariably partecipated the Superintendence of the Sea, the Port of Trapani, the Guardia di Finanza, the Marine Protected Area of the Egadi Islands, the Shipping Agency, the Cultural Association of Real Time and volunteers who for various reasons have served and continue to their professionalism.
In particular, the Superintendent of the Sea of Sicily Region since 2005, in collaboration with RPM Nautical Foundation, has produced a detailed analysis of the waters of the Aegean archipelago and Trapani, oceanographic vessel using dynamic positioning system (DPS) equipped with of electro-acoustic and visual reconnaissance systems of last generation. Methods and advanced equipment that have allowed to "revive" the famous Battle of the Egadi, fought in the mirror of the sea off Trapani between the fleet led by Hanno the Carthaginian and Roman led by Lutazio Catulo.
The Greek historian Polybius describes the first Punic War as "the longest, uninterrupted and terrible war of which we have knowledge" (Histories, I, 63, 4), with a fleet consisting of more than three hundred warships, rowing and a crew of over one hundred thousand sailors.
The decision to go to war was taken to avoid that with the control of Sicily "the Carthaginians could build a bridge to get to Italy" (Histories, I, 10, 9). For their part, they had estimated that if they had not picked up the desperate plea for help of local mercenaries, the Romans would have taken possession of the island, and from there they could think of to further expand their domains.
The war lasted twenty-three years and saw the protagonists galleys, ships very fast and easily manoeuvrable with the ´"ace" of the rostrum, which emerged on the water and in the clash with the enemy ships created enormous flaws that led to a fast sinking .
The Romans, led by consul Gaius Lutazio Catulus, won all the major clashes, which ended with a decisive victory off the islands Egadi 10 March 241. B.C. The Romans reconfirmed power unchallenged, while the Carthaginians were forced to pay a huge war indemnity.
At the time, perhaps you could not imagine, but the Roman ships sunk during the battle would be given to the history and heritage remains important and valuable. Objects, largely exposed in the premises of Favignana Tuna fishery, officially called Ex Florio Establishment of the traps of Favignana and Formica; spaces for modern museum, thanks to its versatility, the sound and visual effects, and more in general to multimedia.
The property, with its 32,000 square meters is one of the largest tuna fishing in the Mediterranean passed to the family Florio in 1841 Acquired after the fishing rights in 1874, Ignazio Florio called the architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda - author of Politeama Palermo - to expand and renovate the trap, adibendola for the preservation and canning of tuna in oil. In the first half of the twentieth century, the factory changed ownership twice, to pass, in 1985, the entrepreneur Nino Trapani Castiglione. In 1991 the factory was acquired by the Sicilian Region. The work of recovery he needed the structure was completed in 2010, dividing the interior museum space theme.
The Plant Florio, until September 30th, will be open every day - including holidays - from 10 to 13.30 in the morning, and from 17 to 23.30 in the afternoon and evening. The entrance is free of charge, while the tour is free. The ticket office closes 30 minutes before the closing of the museum; the ticket costs 4 euro, while the reduced one (reserved for students aged 18 to 25 years) costs 2 euro. Free admission for visitors under 18 years and every first Sunday of the month. Tickets are on sale only at the museum. The times of the tours are as follows: 10.30; 11:15; 12; 17:30; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22.
Info and booking guided tour: 324 5631991 (active only during opening hours); Tourist Office City of Favignana, 0923 925 443.
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