Page 512 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

there is to do is window-shop in the many places selling “prodotti tipici”– traditional

tuna products, of course, as well as bottarga (fish roe), oil, local dried herbs, wine
and bloody postcards of la Mattanza.

Monte Santa Caterina

The island’s sole hill, Monte Santa Caterina is topped by an abandoned Norman
castello, floodlit at night, and reached by a crazy-paved stairway from the west side

of Favignana town. Alternatively, follow the lower path over the mountain to a crest
with views to Marettimo. The path down the other side, however, is hard to follow
and you may end up scrambling over walls and through fields to reach the road.

The rest of the island

Away from the town, Favignana is tidily cultivated, pitted with square white houses
built from tufa quarried from curious pits all over the island – an export that has

historically provided the island with a second source of cash (after fishing). One of
the old quarries, on the fringe of town by the decrepit chapel of Santa Anna, has been
landscaped and turned into a quirky sunken garden.

You can swim at the beach near the town, but the sandy beach at Lido Burrone, on
the island’s south side, is better, with a friendly pizzeria-restaurant-bar that rents out
parasols and sun-loungers. Otherwise, just follow the coast roads and plunge in off the

rocks, or settle down on one of the tiny handkerchiefs of sand. Call in at Cala
Azzurra, below the lighthouse at the island’s eastern end, where there’s a beautiful
blue bay but little sand; or, just north, the spectacular Cala Rossa, where you can
swim off rocks at the base of towering tufa cliffs. Its name – Red Cove – is said to

derive from the blood washed ashore after the Roman defeat of the Carthaginians in a
fierce sea battle in 241 BC. The road to Cala Rossa in particular is noted for its tufa
quarries – just before the cove itself is a huge quarry where stacks of tufa and
unexcavated pillars rise high from the gloomy depths. On the other side of the
mountain, the best beach is at Cala Rotonda, where, local legend would have it,
Odysseus washed up before being attacked by the Cyclops.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: FAVIGNANA

By ferry and hydrofoil Siremar ( 0923 921 368, siremar.it) and Ustica Lines (
0923 921 277, usticalines.it) both have offices at the port in Favignana town. They

operate services throughout the year between Trapani, Marsala and the other Egadi
Islands. The services detailed here are year-round; schedules are increased from June
10 to September 10.

Ferry departures Lévanzo (2–3 daily; 35min); Marettimo (1 daily; 40min); Trapani