ITINERARY THE ROUTE OF THE TUNA

BORGO DI MARZAMEMI

A subtle "fil rouge", red like those tuna that for over a thousand years return in the small bay of Marzamemi, tells the whole story of this village. Marsa al Hamen is the most characteristic seaside village of this territory and keeps intact some characteristics of the sea country, buildings and artefacts that still preserve the flavor of history and of the fish and artisanal evolution. At Marzamemi we still work tuna, always, with the same patience, care and loving dedication that has been handed down for generations. at the beginning of 1600 the Prince of Villadorata, having already acquired land and buildings, gave a vital impulse to the area: building the whole village around the opificio, extending the warehouses, creating houses for fishermen, the church and its enchanting palace noble. From that moment, Marzamemi began to teem with artisan life: sailors, fishermen, rope makers, "caulkers" (those who repaired boats used for fishing), gutters, salters, "horsemen" (fishmongers on carriages pulled by big horses). A primordial network united these activities in a unique and absolutely necessary way: one was propedeutic to the other, everything took place in absolutely perfect times and ways. Even today Marzamemi preserves intact the charm and memory of that artisan life and that synergy. Visiting this village is a real step back in time: everything seems a snapshot of the moment of greater prestige and comfort of the place. The fishing village is developed around the Piazza Regina Margherita, which overlooks the Prince's Palace of Villadorata. To connect the ancient church of San Francesco di Paola to the palace is an archway, which conveyed rainwater coming from the collection channels installed on the noble prospectus in two large cisterns lateral to the church itself. On the square, but also on an Arabian courtyard behind, there are the Casette dei Pescatori. Small, tidy and essential, characterized by two doors: one towards the sea, the other towards the village, so as to never interrupt the connection between life on the ground and that between the waves. From a balcony of the building, the Prince, owner of the tonnara, could look out onto the Loggia where the tuna was worked, check the Scieri (the boats useful for tuna fishing) just returned with their precious cargo. The skiers, entering the village from Porto Piccolo, were towed to the ground and moored with the part of the slide against the Balata (made of slabs of smooth limestone) in order to unload, by a hook, the freshly caught tuna. Slippery and sloping, the Balata served to make it easier to drag the tuna down to the Loggia: here the tunas underwent the first part of the process, before being hung for 24 hours in the Camperia. This was the tuna fishery factory, recognizable by its tall four-sided smokestack. The whole building complex was called Floating and included also the accommodation for the employees, the shelter premises for the "scieri" during the winter period, the warehouses for the equipment, the nets and the other tools for fishing and the processing rooms and the storage of the catch. This corner of artisanal fishing and processing and trading of fish products has remained active, despite periods of recession (especially during the two world wars). In confirmation of this, even today in Marzamemi there are various tuna processing factories, which easily perpetuate the ancient maritime and fish tradition, as it has been handed down from the most ancient generations.

Source GAC dei due mari