The water in the tuff quarries of Favignana has a color that is not easily forgotten: an electric blue that is almost artificial, made even more intense by the contrast with the yellow walls of the limestone extracted from the island for centuries. These abandoned quarries, flooded over time by underground waters and the sea, have become natural pools where locals swim alongside tourists. This is not an equipped park or a conventional beach: they are holes in the rock, reachable on foot or by bicycle, often without signs or facilities. This is the tone of Favignana.
The largest of the Egadi islands is located about 7 kilometers from the western coast of Sicily, opposite Trapani. Its shape vaguely resembles a butterfly, with two wings that spread around the central port. The island measures about 20 square kilometers and has a resident population of just over 4,000 inhabitants, a figure that multiplies in the summer months when ferries unload waves of visitors from the mainland and Sicily. Despite this, outside the high season, Favignana maintains a slow, almost suspended rhythm.
The tuff quarries: industrial landscapes turned into swimming pools
The extraction of yellow tuff — locally called Favignana stone — has shaped the appearance of the island for centuries. This soft limestone was hand-cut with tools called picks and shipped throughout Sicily as building material. The most accessible quarries are located in the eastern part of the island, near the district of Lido Burrone. Some have been partially equipped for visitors, but many remain in a raw state: vertical walls carved in steps, shady nooks, surfaces that still bear the marks of the tools. The water that fills them, filtered through the rock, reaches a transparency and color tone that is hard to find elsewhere in the Mediterranean.
Those who visit the island by bicycle — the most used means, available for rent at the port for about 5-10 euros a day — can reach these quarries by following the secondary roads that cross the interior. The terrain is flat, making the tour of the island accessible even to those who are not trained. It is advisable to set off early in the morning, before the heat becomes oppressive and before the most famous quarries fill up with visitors.
The Florio Tonnara and the History of Tuna Fishing
In the center of the port of Favignana stands one of the most imposing buildings on the island: the former establishment of the Florio Tonnara, built in the second half of the 19th century by the Florio family, a Palermo entrepreneurial dynasty that dominated the Sicilian economy for decades. The establishment, designed by architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda and inaugurated in 1859, was used for the processing and preservation of the bluefin tuna caught using the traditional technique of the mattanza.
The mattanza is a collective fishing technique that involved the use of fixed nets arranged in sequence to trap the tunas during their spring migration. It required dozens of fishermen coordinated by a ritual figure called the rais, who directed the operations with songs and commands passed down orally. The last mattanza in Favignana took place in 2007, marking the end of a tradition that had lasted for centuries. The Florio establishment is now converted into a museum — the Sea Museum — where original fishing tools, processing tanks, and photographic and audiovisual documentation on the mattanza can be seen. The entrance ticket is generally around 5-8 euros.
The Castle of Santa Caterina and the Historic Center
On the hill that overlooks the village stands the Castle of Santa Caterina, a military structure whose origins date back to the Norman era, later modified by the Aragonese and used as a prison until the 19th century. It is not always continuously accessible to the public, but from the base of the hill, there is already a good view of the island and the surrounding sea. The historic center of Favignana is compact and can be walked through in a few minutes: the narrow streets, the low yellow stone houses, the bars with outdoor tables give the impression of a village that has not yet completely succumbed to tourist pressure.
The morning fish market, when active, is one of the most authentic moments of local life: it takes place near the port in the early hours of the morning and offers typical species of the western Mediterranean. It is one of those details that can only be noticed if you arrive early and move slowly.
When to go and how to get there
The ferries and hydrofoils to Favignana depart from the port of Trapani several times a day. The crossing by hydrofoil takes about 30 minutes. September and June are the best months to visit the island: the sea is warm, the quarries are accessible, but tourist pressure is lower compared to July and August, when accommodations fill up quickly and the most well-known quarries become crowded as early as ten in the morning. Those who can should avoid mid-August: the island completely changes character and that feeling of isolation that makes it special almost completely disappears.
