Egadi Islands

Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo lie a short crossing west of Trapani inside a marine protected area of about fifty-three thousand hectares, one of the largest in the Mediterranean. Favignana is low and flat, quarried for tufa stone that left deep rectangular pits now used as sunken gardens, and is small enough to cycle; its Florio tuna works, once among the largest in the Mediterranean, has been restored as a museum covering the mattanza tuna trap fishery, which ended in the 2000s. Levanzo has the Grotta del Genovese, a cave with Palaeolithic engravings and Neolithic paintings. Marettimo is mountainous with no cars.

Background

The name means the islands of goats. The group counts five small mountainous islands with a combined area of 37.45 square kilometres. Favignana, the largest and the ancient Aegusa, is 16 kilometres southwest of Trapani. Levanzo, once Phorbantia, is 13 kilometres west, and Marettimo, known in antiquity as Hiera Nesos, sits 24 kilometres west. Two minor islands, Formica with its lighthouse and Maraone, lie between Levanzo and Sicily. Together they form the comune of Favignana, home to 4,292 people in 2017. There is no winter frost, little rain falls, and most islanders fish. In 1874 the Florio family of Palermo bought the islands from the Pallavicini-Rusconi family of Genoa.

Source: Wikipedia, "Aegadian Islands"

What's there

• The Florio tuna works - a restored industrial complex and museum.
• The tufa quarries - deep cut pits used as sunken gardens on Favignana.
• The Grotta del Genovese - prehistoric engravings and paintings on Levanzo.
• Marettimo - a mountainous car-free island of paths and coves.

When to go

May to September; the cave on Levanzo is visited only on a booked guided trip by boat or jeep. Hydrofoils are cancelled in rough weather. August is crowded.

What to expect

The Levanzo cave requires booking in advance with a licensed guide. Ferries depend on the sea. Marettimo has very limited accommodation.

Nearby

Trapani lies east; Mozia is in the lagoon south.

Key facts