At the heart of the ancient Tuna Fishery of Favignana – better known as the Florio Tonnara – stood the Camparìa, the complex’s true nerve center. It looks like a secular cathedral facing the sea, dedicated to tuna fishing through the age-old and dramatic practice known as the mattanza.
Blood and tradition were once inseparably linked in this now prohibited ritual, under the command of the rais, a term of Arabic origin meaning “captain.” A highly respected and authoritative figure, the rais determined fishing strategies, decided where and how the nets would be set, guided the fishermen, and marked the rhythm of the operation through traditional songs known as cialoma.
