The sea and the working community

The Florios of Sicily

This flow follows the traditional tuna fishery as a seasonal community and its transformation under Florio investment and industrial preservation.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A seasonal ritual A seasonal ritual from "The Florios of Sicily". A seasonal ritual The tuna migration Tuna enter the Mediterranean in spring, and the tonnara’s nets and boats organize the seasonal catch.

A seasonal ritual from "The Florios of Sicily". A seasonal ritual The tuna migration Tuna enter the Mediterranean in spring, and the tonnara’s nets and boats organize the seasonal catch.

A seasonal ritual The tuna migration Tuna enter the Mediterranean in spring, and the tonnara’s nets and boats organize the seasonal catch. Fishing families work together at sea and in the processing plant. Nothing discarded The fish provide meat, oil, fertilizer, and roe. The work follows inherited knowledge and uses nearly every part of the catch. The tonnara is not merely a business site; it is a living community whose rhythms depend on the sea and on cooperation among families.

A neglected inheritance A neglected inheritance from "The Florios of Sicily". A neglected inheritance A failing operation Vincenzo Florio sees the Arenella fishery struggling and takes over its management despite years of poor returns.

A neglected inheritance from "The Florios of Sicily". A neglected inheritance A failing operation Vincenzo Florio sees the Arenella fishery struggling and takes over its management despite years of poor returns.

A neglected inheritance A failing operation Vincenzo Florio sees the Arenella fishery struggling and takes over its management despite years of poor returns. Ignazio Florio had valued the place for its sea and its potential. Investment and repair Vincenzo improves facilities and develops tuna preservation in oil. Later, he leases the Favignana fishery and finds buildings and work practices in poor condition. His investment treats local fisheries as both inherited knowledge and infrastructure that can be reshaped for larger markets.

Families enter the factory Families enter the factory from "The Florios of Sicily". Families enter the factory Work reorganized At Favignana, Vincenzo Florio proposes cooking tuna and sealing it in oil.

Families enter the factory from "The Florios of Sicily". Families enter the factory Work reorganized At Favignana, Vincenzo Florio proposes cooking tuna and sealing it in oil.

Families enter the factory Work reorganized At Favignana, Vincenzo Florio proposes cooking tuna and sealing it in oil. He promises to employ families, not only fishermen, and to use the products left over from processing. A community transformed Vito Cordova responds to the promise of work, while the existing bookkeeper resists the new system. Industrial change brings employment but alters a community’s established practices. The tonnara becomes a meeting point between inherited ritual and modern production, with the people who work there central to whether the change succeeds.

Spring and summer

1830s to 1850s

1850s