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heritage restoration project in which different levels of competence and responsibility are
involved. In the specific case of the tonnare, a more detailed analysis I conducted some years
ago regarding the pre-existing structures in the area around Palermo has shown that the grave
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discordance between these structures and their respective contexts was due to economic-
productive variations over time and to uncontrolled private initiatives, often resulting in damage
to the property in question. However, a census of these aggressions along the coast in the past
decades and in particular of the damage to the towers and the tonnare, should not only arouse
public indignation, but should also induce the local authorities to adopt rigorous policies that
can no longer be postponed. Though a complete return to prior environmental conditions is not
possible, provisions are urgently needed to impede further disruption of the surrounding areas
before the remaining architectonic complexes are definitely destroyed.
Though the Sicilian tonnare no longer perform their original function, they remain a

precious testimony to the extraordinary experience of the culture of work and to the material
culture of Sicily. To keep the identity of the Island alive, we have a moral imperative to consign
this fragment of historic, architectonic and environmental patrimony to future generations.

22 R. Lentini, “Da Magazzinazzi a Cefalù: le tonnare palermitane tra storia e recupero”, in M.
Gangemi (edited by), Pesca e patrimonio industriale. Tecniche, strutture e organizzazione
(Sicilia, Puglia, Malta e Dalmazia tra XIX e XX secolo), Cacucci, Bari, 2007, pp. 91-124.

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