As the soil is already loose, Firriato does not work the land, leaving it open for spontaneous ground cover to grow. They only busy themselves with applying mulching during the summer months. These are techniques that have a low environmental impact and are completely in sync with the island’s ecosystem. This management system in conjunction with the Neptune grass spread along the rows form characteristic elements of an agronomic philosophy that complies with nature. Another element is plant management which, as we have already seen, follows the climatic trends of the vintage and the productive state of the plant, from the foliage cover of the grapes of some varieties, to the removal of shoot tips and thinning out.
Pioneers to the core, in 2011 Firriato converted a small section of the vineyard into an experimental plot. Here they planted native vine specimens directly into the soil in order to evaluate a few fundamental aspects of vine development. Because of this the Calamoni Estate has become a model example of extreme viticulture. The influence of the sea and the rather particular soil structure offer the chance to test the plants’ resistance to the extreme conditions presented by the Favignana habitat, and to possible attacks of phylloxera and disease. The growth-fruit process is producing some important data such as an increased resistance to water scarcity, a more balanced plant yield and greater sensory and olfactory integrity of the fruit.

The butterfly of the sea— that is the nickname the painter Salvatore Fiume gave Favignana, inspired by its peculiar shape. Its actual name, as you might have guessed, comes from the westerly Favonio (Foehn) wind. The Romans knew it as Aegusa from the Greek Aigousa that means ‘which has goats’ because of the abundance of them on the island.

The Punic wars, the Arab and Spanish dominations: the great history of the Mediterranean has always intercepted with this natural paradise right up until more recent times with the feats of Florio. The Florios were a family of great Sicilian entrepreneurs who established the most majestic tonnara (antique tuna fishery) in the entire Mediterranean, on the island. Today, after a period of abandonment when the practice of mattanza (the traditional practice of tuna fish capture and slaughter) ceased, the tonnara has been converted into a museum and exhibition space. It actively integrates into a landscape characterised by other evidence of mankind’s activity, which in turn have been transformed finding new meaning. The limestone quarries, for example, particularly those at the sea shore with their enchanting reddish to gold tones, have become magnificent coves with evocative names (Cala Rossa –red cove, Cala Azzurra- azure cove, Lido Burrone- ravine beach). Any sea-lover would dream of spending at least one day of their life there.

Favignana is more than a happy holiday island though. With agaves, dwarf palms and maritime pines blowing in the breeze, and a shallow sandy seabed colonised by Neptune grass, it creates the ideal habitat for marine life. Favignana is a mirror, the ideal picture of Mediterranean beauty, which not even the greatest artist, armed only with their own imagination, would be able to paint. It is picture perfect both above and below the sea- two worlds which combine together in few other locations such as this island to complete an infinite cycle.