INDUSTRIAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL ITINERARY: LE TONNARE
BETWEEN TONNARA OF AVOLA AND TONNARA OF PORTOPALO OF C.P.

Tuna: a symbol of opulence and hard work. Symbol of fear, anger and joy. The tuna, the red one of Sicily, was the most sought after prey: the one with the most firm meat, with the bags full of eggs, with the biggest heart. It was the fish from which the population that lived in the villages of the Tonnara gained sustenance and life. Tuna fishing in Sicily has very ancient origins, above all the slaughter. The first to teach the techniques of capture were the Arabs, followed by the Spaniards. In southeastern Sicily, just in the Terre dei due Mari, until the 1960s many Tonnare were produced. Spectacular processing factories, located at sea and near brackish areas. Before Florio invented tuna in olive oil, the best way to preserve this extraordinary fish was salt. That is why almost all the tuna processing plants were built in the areas of sea salt production, near the salt pans or brackish lakes. The tuna fishermen of Vendicari, Marzamemi and Portopalo had their salt pans nearby. The tuna processing industry now no longer needs these places, which have now become treasure chests of memory and tradition, admirable examples of industrial archeology. The northernmost of the traps of this route is that of Avola, located at the entrance of the Marina. Its position was strategic, to facilitate the transport of tuna from boats to the Malfaraggio (rooms used for warehouses and tuna processing). The tonnara also housed the seasonal home of the owner, who during the summer also became a "tonnarota". Very little remains of the ancient tonnara: the perimeter walls, the large chimney and part of the warehouses. A visit is a must: especially at dawn, when the ancient walls of the factory are colored with gold. Inside the Vendicari Wildlife Oasis, it is possible to admire another tonnara. Excellently restored, it is offered to visitors' eyes almost like an open book. It was a tonnara back, dedicated to fishing tuna that were part of the open sea after the season of love. The tonnara of Vendicari, also called Bafutu, had its maximum splendor at the beginning of the last century, when the backwaters were also given in concession to a nobleman from Avola, who restored all the eighteenth-century buildings of the tonnara to resume processing. With the disembarkation of the allies in Sicily, during the Second World War, the activity of the tonnara was interrupted, today it has become the symbol of the Vendicari reserve. The most ancient tonnara of all south-eastern Sicily is that of Marzamemi. The first settlements date back to the year one thousand by the hands of the Arabs, who established the first settlements that later became the seaside village. The Loggia, once a shelter for returning boats, is today a perfectly restored environment. All warehouses and processing rooms are visible from the great Balata. In Marzamemi, the seafaring life has never stopped. Tuna processing continues in several modern factories, and those who visit them perceive that the "Taste of History" has remained unchanged here. The last tuna processing plant is located in Portopalo di Capo Passero. Its particular architecture is particularly appreciable from the sea: the processing plant and the owner's house were and still are located on a rocky coast about 40 meters above sea level. Also this was a return trap, the last before returning to the open sea. So the tuna survived to other tuna arrived tired and lean, their meat was firm and low in fat, and having already spawned their capture did not cause any damage to reproduction.

Source GAC dei due mari