The Aegadian Islands ( it, Isole Egadi; scn, Ìsuli Ègadi, la, Aegates Insulae; gr, Aἰγάται Νῆσοι, , the islands of goats) are a group of five small mountainous islands in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
off the northwest coast of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, near the cities of
Trapani
Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...
and
Marsala
Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily.
The town is famous for the docking of Gius ...
, with a total area of .
The
island of Favignana (''Aegusa''), the largest, lies southwest of Trapani;
Levanzo
Levanzo (; Sicilian: ''Lèvanzu'') is the smallest of the three main Aegadian Islands in the Mediterranean Sea west of Sicily, Italy. It forms a part of the municipality ('' comune'') of Favignana in the Province of Trapani.
Geography
Levanzo ha ...
(''Phorbantia'') lies west; and
Marettimo, the ancient ''Hiera Nesos'', west of Trapani, is now reckoned as a part of the group. There are also two minor islands,
Formica
''Formica'' is a genus of ants of the family Formicidae, commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, thatching ants, and field ants. ''Formica'' is the type genus of the Formicidae, and of the subfamily Formicinae. The type species of genus ' ...
and
Maraone, lying between Levanzo and Sicily. For administrative purposes the archipelago constitutes the
comune of Favignana in the
Province of Trapani
Trapani ( it, Provincia di Trapani, scn, Pruvincia di Tràpani; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it ...
.
The overall population in 2017 was 4,292.
Winter
frost
Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a g ...
is unknown and
rain
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
fall is low. The main occupation of the islanders is fishing, and the largest
tuna
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...
fishery in Sicily is there.
History
There is evidence of
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
and even
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
paintings in caves on Levanzo, and to a lesser extent on Favignana.
The islands were the scene of the
battle of the Aegates
The Battle of the Aegates was a naval battle fought on 10 March 241 BC between the fleets of Carthage and Rome during the First Punic War. It took place among the Aegates Islands, off the western coast of the island of Sicily. The Carthagin ...
of 241 BC, in which the
Carthaginian fleet was defeated by the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
fleet led by
Lutatius Catulus; the engagement ended the
First Punic War
The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years ...
. After the end of
Western Roman power in the first millennium AD, the islands, to the extent that they were governed at all, were part of territories of
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...
,
Vandals
The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century.
The ...
,
Saracens
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...
, before the
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
fortified Favignana in 1081.
The islands belonged to the Pallavicini-Rusconi family of
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
until 1874, when the
Florio
The Florio family is a prominent entrepreneurial Italian family who started many lucrative activities in Sicily involving above all the exportation of Sicilian products (such as Marsala wine) in the nineteenth century, in some ways redeeming Sic ...
family of
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The city is noted for its ...
bought them.
Island views
File:Mare Favignana.JPG, Cala Rossa, Favignana
File:Favignana cala azzurra.jpg, Cala azzurra, Favignana
File:Erice-views-bjs-2.jpg, A view from Erice
Erice (; scn, Èrici) is a historic town and '' comune'' in the province of Trapani, Sicily, in southern Italy.
Geography
The main town of Erice is located on top of Mount Erice, at around above sea level, overlooking the city of Trapani ...
to Favignana and Levanzo. On the horizon Marettimo is faintly visible.
See also
*
Isolotto Formica Lighthouse
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Archipelagoes of Italy