Proposal to establish a Remembrance Day for Tuna Workers
With the presentation of the book “Cianchino. The island of illusions”by Ninni Ravazza, the literary exhibition opened on Saturday at Palazzo Florio, in Favignana “Readings between the Islands”organized by the Municipality and the Egadi Islands Marine Protected Area with the collaboration of the Galli Salve Bookshop – Ubik Erice.
The appointment was an important opportunity for discussion on issues related to the sea. Maria Guccioneformer municipal councilor of Favignana and historical memory of the island, introducing the meeting, remembered Clemente Ventrone, a recently deceased tuna fisherman, and underlined the need to preserve the stories and experiences of the people who dedicated their lives to working in the traps .
“The tuna fishery, the tuna fishermen, the slaughter – he said – they were the means through which the island made itself known to the world. The rais and the tonnaroti are characters who have become immortal and constitute our cultural heritage. It would be right to remember them by establishing a Remembrance Day dedicated to the workers of the Tonnare di Favignana and Formica”.
The municipal councilor for culture Monica Modica expressed his support for the initiative: “Our community owes a lot to the rais and to all those who worked in the tuna fisheries”, he said. “Dedicating a day to them is right and proper. It will be a moment of reflection and discussion that will enrich us all and make us a more cohesive community.”
A proposal also shared by the writer Ninni Ravazza who, during his speech, underlined the importance of the memory that binds the old and new generations. “Cianchino – he said – he’s a guy who actually lived on an island. We won’t say where because his story is tragic. His relationship with the sea is the same as that of all children who are born on an island and who have their embankment and their horizon in the sea. They have to deal with the difficulties associated with living on an island, such as the need to leave their home and move to the mainland to study.”
The event will continue next Saturday with the presentation of the book “The feeling of the sea” by Evelina Santangelo.
