Ecotourism - Case Colomba 

The Egadi islands 

         This archipelago was already inhabited in prehistoric times, when it was still attached to the mainland, it never witnessed importan historical events, but it has always attracted the attention of sailors in the Meditterraean, especially pirates who regularly called in here for water. 

The mythology tells that Elios from the hair of gold, guide of the heated wagon, not hardly in sky opening the rose-colored fingers beautiful dawn, sended its flock to pingui the pastures of the Trinacria island, entrusting it to the guard of two beautiful girls: Faetusia and Lampetia a present  for its embrace  from the Neera young.

 Hour from the names of the two shepherds, and from their young mother, the names derive classics  Aegusa, Pharbantia, Hiera. 

The first real appearance of these islands on the stage of history, whose ancient name is also Aegades that is island of the goats, goes back to the fifteenth century when they were trasformd into a "tuna barony” and assigned to Giovanni de Karissima. 

It was thanks to tuna fishing that the three islands, and especially Favignana, in the space of a few decades prospered very much, to the benefit of everybody, from the shipowners to the humblest fisherman. 

The former originally came from Liguria – they bought the archipelago in the 17th century – and then there were the Florios, the powerful Palermo family whose maison, built by the architect, can still be admired on Favignana. 

Thanks to the Florio the “mattanza”, today object of many tourists, processing and conservation of tuna fish took a new lease of life.

Up to date : 10 Jamuary 2011

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