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The main geomorphosites of ... 139

the presence of large, unstable limestone boulders assumed that most of them were excavated between
which have caused several rock falls. This cliff and the the 17th and the end of the 19th century. These sites
rock fall materials make up an interesting geomorphosi- are now utilised as gardens and small orchards;
te (1), easily observable from the asphalt road. - “ancient coastal quarries of San Nicola” (7), whose
To the south, another geomorphosite is found: the floors have now been covered by sea advancement
“Preveto Islet” (2), which is made up of Mesozoic lime- for a depth of about 20 cm, and where the ancient
stones. This geosite is the obvious continuation into the submerged excavation frames are still perfectly visible
sea of the Favignana ridge. (Fig. 2). The calcarenites are very rich in fossils here,
especially in Pecten specimens. It is assumed that
To the west, the perfectly circular natural inlet of they were exploited between the Middle Ages and the
Cala Rotonda is found. Inside it, a small geomorphosite last century, in analogy with the nearby coastal quar-
named the “Arch of Ulysses” (3) is located. This is a ries of bioclastic calcarenites of San Vito Lo Capo,
remarkable, thin natural arch rising from the sea. All the which are also submerged (Antonioli et al., 1994).
western coast is made up of vast sub-horizontal out- Recently, in the area of San Nicola, the skeleton of a
crops of limestones and calcareous breccias and is an cetacean in a horizontal position, embedded in calca-
important example of an ancient sub-aerial plain which renite, was found, together with layers of pelecypod
was later reworked by the sea. It contains innumerable shells. This large marine mammal was probably
microforms of the Karren and pot-hole types, which are grounded on the beach (Massoli-Novelli, in press);
particularly visible in the Cala Grande area. It is therefo- - “ancient/modern quarries of Cala Rossa” (Fig. 3), here
re possible to identify a karst coastal plain of the Cala different types of quarries are found: coastal open
Grande geomorphosite (4). cast quarries (8) and underground excavated quarries
To the north, high on a cliff towards Punta (9), with the presence of numerous, considerable
Faraglione, there are two large karst caves very close to sedimentation structures, in particular cross-bedding,
each other. The one known as “Grotte dell’Ucceria” has which were exploited manually in the past centuries;
two entrances and important prehistoric artefacts were - “recent quarries of Setteminne-Torretta” (10), these
found inside it. This two-cave complex makes up an are often large pit-type quarries, up to 30 m deep,
important karst-type geomorphosite (5). which have been worked by means of cutting machi-
nes. Many of them were recently abandoned, althou-
We shall now describe the eastern side of gh some are still active in order to guarantee the
Favignana, with its calcarenite sandstones and the pre- required material for restoring the many old houses
viously mentioned “tufo” quarries. built of calcarenite stones.
For many centuries this “tufo” rock was exploited As has been suggested by many authoritative
as the most important economic activity of this island, sources, the Favignana “tufo” quarries should be reclai-
together with fishing and farming. The quarrying of this med for cultural and geotourism purposes, as, for
material goes back to very ancient times – certainly example, a Quarry Museum or an Earth Museum.
Roman times – but the peak of quarrying activities Furthermore, in Setteminne there are two large conti-
dates back to the period between the 17th and 19th guous quarries which together make up an interesting
centuries. Many palaces in Tunis were built with geomorphosite (11). They are both pit-type quarries; the
Favignana “tufo”. The same rock was used for the first one is abandoned but it still has a typical residual
reconstruction of Messina after
it had been destroyed by the
earthquake of 1908.
Indeed “tufo” has always
typified the isle of Favignana.
Apart from making up most of
the geological landscape, it can
be observed everywhere as
building material: numerous
houses and stone walls dividing
land properties are made of it.
There are about 150 exi-
sting quarries, of which most
are open cast quarries or pit-like
ones. On the other hand, other
quarries have been dug out
underground. Four groups of
caves, which are the most inte-
resting and representative of
several types are here proposed
as geomorphosites: Fig. 2 – Aerial view of the Cala Rossa ancient “tufo” quarries (Pleistocene bioclastic calcareni-
- “ancient quarries in the village te), isle of Favignana: the resulting landscape is similar to that of an abandoned city (photo by
of Favignana” (6), in particular Tamagnini).
those next to the security pri- Le antiche cave di “tufo” (calcarenite bioclastica pleistocenica) di Cala Rossa, isola di
son. Although there is no cer- Favignana, osservate dal cielo: il paesaggio che ne deriva risulta simile a quello di una città
tainty about their age, it is abbandonata (Foto Tamagnini).