Historical Profile of the Sicilian Tuna Fishing Facilities until the 19 th Century

Abstract

The thousand-year-old history of tuna fishing in Sicily has left deep and relevant testimonials both on the material culture of its people, and all around the Island, with dozens of place names, archaeological sites and architectural infrastructures still visible nowadays. Aside from the flagship tuna fishing facilities of Formica and Favignana, primarily from the 17th Century onwards, a constellation of fixed facilities was developed, both small and big-sized, which generated wealth and raised many generations of raisi, who were experts in leading a large army of crews, both on land and at sea. This was the other side of grain-growing Sicily.