A
volcanic blast gifted Favignana its eclectic
history: its 20 square kilometres are covered
with tuf stone, made from the ash of
an eruption, that can be cut like building blocks.
The savvy Romans quarried entire swimming pools
for themselves, complete with changing rooms and
seawater pumps. Their ladies-only bathing area,
Bagno delle Donne, survives on the isle’s eastern
tip. Tuf stone also formed the foundations of the
Saracen fort of Santa Caterina on Favignana’s
volcanic peak, which can still be spotted as soon
as you arrive in port.
But not everyone has settled here by choice.
Arab, Norman, then Aragonese rulers declared the
island ’s precipitous interior the perfect spot for a
high security prison. Whether the convicts deserved
the azure blue views east to Marsala, or west to even
more isolated Marettimo, is another matter.
The island still has one remaining penitentiary,
which hit the headlines in 2017 when three prisoners
cut through the prison
bars then lowered
themselves free using
knotted bed sheets. The
trio tried to steal a boat
but were tracked down
by their wet footprints
and incarcerated again
the same day.
But the island ’s
charms mean that it
draws more willing visitors than escapees. “To Italians, Favignana
is known as ‘the big butterfly’,” says Y.CO yacht manager Valeria
Sangalli. “The dramatic coastline around its two ‘wings’ makes
ita great yachtingdestination.”Thereareanumberofirresistible
grottos around its 32 kilometres of shoreline, including Grotta
dei Sospiri (the cave of sighs), which moans in the breeze as you
paddle inside. There is also sea life aplenty and the yearly
bluefin run funnels from Tunisia up through the surrounding
Aegadian Islands.
In 1874 the Florio family purchased the island and its lucrative fishing rights and the
resulting boom called for more tuf rock buildings. One quarry to the east of the island, which
was dug from the eighth century to the 1960s, has been replanted with island flora. These caves
now form the Giardino dell ’Impossibile, a rainbow display of oleanders and pomegranates that
dazzle against the soft white rock.
Favignana
Best by boat: Superyachts won’t fit in the Marina Favignana,
which can accommodate boats only up to 16m, but there are
numerous anchorages particularly to the north east and
south west of the island.
BEST FOR RUGGED COASTAL EXPLORING:
Location: West of Sicily, a day’s sail from Tunisia
Above: the fort and
former prison of Santa
Caterina looms over
the island of Favignana
Below: Favignana town
Left: there are grottos
galore around the
32km of Favignana’s
dramatic coastline
Favignana has many
anchorages from which
to enjoy its beautiful
beaches and water
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