The Island
The gin from The island of Marettimo
The Context
The Egadi Archipelago, consisting of the islands of Favignana, Levanzo, and Marettimo, is the largest marine protected area in Europe.
Marettimo is the most mountainous and remote island in this archipelago. It is located 43 km from Trapani, has a coastline of 19 km, covers an area of 12.3 square kilometers, and reaches a maximum height of 686 meters at Pizzo Falcone.
Outside the summer season, only about 160 inhabitants live on the island.
The History
The ancient populations of this Mediterranean area (Phoenicians, Elymians, Sicani) attributed a sacred character to Marettimo, which can still be felt today. The ancient Greek name for the island, mentioned by Polybius, was Hierà Nésos (Ἱερά νῆσος), meaning "Sacred Island."
According to the theory of Samuel Butler, a 19th-century English historian, Marettimo is Ithaca, the homeland of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey.