Tonnara di Vendicari

Tonnara Sicily, Italy

Of "recent" construction, but no less fascinating, is the Tonnara di Vendicari: also called Bafutu, it was built in the eighteenth century following the great increase that in Sicily there had been in the concession of tuna traps.

The activity of the Tonnara was facilitated by the presence of the salt pans, the first dating back to the Greek era. Alternating flourishing periods with periods of closure, the tonnara was completely restructured in 1914, thanks to the financial support of Antonino Modica Munafò, a nobleman from Avola. In 1943, after the landing of the allies, also due to an insufficient economic yield of the tuna trade, the tonnara definitively ceased its activity. Today it remains a unique and fascinating testimony of the ancient Sicilian tradition of fishing and tuna processing.