City break in Aegadian Islands. Active leisure ideas for Aegadian Islands - attractions, recreation and nightlife

The Aegadian Islands were inhabited in the Neolithic era. Nobody knows exactly people got here, but scientists suggest that the archipelago and the mainland were linked by a strip of land in ancient times. In 241 BC the sea battle unfolded in the local waters. It resulted with the end of the Second Punic war and the victory of Romans. The Roman Empire established its protectorate over the Islands. After the fall of the great power it was ruled by the Goths, Vandals and Saracens, and then Normans came here. Later the archipelago belonged to the Republic of Genoa. Even later, the islands were bought by Ignazio Florio.

There is a monument to Ignazio Florio near the city council on the main square. He bought the islands in 1876. He took money from the tuna reprocessing factory built by the Florio family in the 17th century. The factory had innovative and modern equipment for those times. The factory itself is a popular tourist attraction on Favignana. There are many mechanisms of past times. Furthermore, different exhibitions are held in the building of the factory.

An amazing castle of Santa Caterina is located on Favignana island. The castle is located on the peak of Mount Santa Caterina. Its peak is 310 meters high and it provides amazing views of the island. The Castle was built in the 10th century by Saracens and it was besieged and destroyed several times. Later, the Saracens left the castle and Normans decided to expand the tower and build a castle. In the 15th century, Andreo Riccio, the ruler of Favignana , rebuilt the fortification again and it acquired the present look. The castle was built using local limestones and its name derives from the small church that Normans rose near the castle to honour Santa Caterina. Scientists believe that the castle was rebuilt from the scratch for several times. Now the fortress is quite well-preserved for its age. During the Bourbon domination, it became a terrible prison for more than 32,000 people. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

World Wars bypassed the Aegadian Islands. The island was abandoned by people and destroyed by the time and weather. You can see not only the preserved rooms and corridors with the remains of antique furniture, doors and windows inside the fortress but also a real military radar which doesn’t function now but it was used by people half a century ago. the Tuna Processing Museum also deserves your attention. There are different interesting exhibits and you will get new information about fishing on the island. People have been making a living by fishing for several centuries on Favignana.

There are several constructions connected to fishing on a small Tonara island. it was a transhipment base for local fishermen for several centuries. They carved and salted fish here. A well preserved old plant of salt production several medieval windmills built more than 2 centuries ago are a good proof of it. However, Levanzo has much more ancient constructions. There is an inhabited village built in the middle ages, fortifications of Normans and Genoese buildings.

The most significant landmark on Levanzo is caves of rock inscriptions from the prehistorical period. They are recognized as a national domain of Italy. Grottos on Marettimo are also of great interest. Ancient inscriptions were found here too. Some of the scientists believe that the grottos were inhabited and people performed religious ceremonies inside the grottos. There are ruins of a city built in the period of the height of the Roman Empire close to Marettimo Island. It was quite a large settlement but scientists still explore its buildings and artefacts.