For decades, man has managed to extract a truly extraordinary stone from the heart of Favignana: Calcarenite. Used particularly in architecture and construction, calcarenite is a compact porous stone but at the same time gives a fine white grain.
Commonly called "tuff", the construction of architecture and houses with this material has proven to be one of the oldest and most peculiar activities of the islanders of Favignana.
The extraction activity of calcarenite was so intense that the island was "excavated" in such a way that we were faced with real cathedrals rather than extraction quarries: the territory was shaped giving life to ever different and evocative shapes at the hands of expert tuff extractor "artists", the "pirriatura" (stonecutters).
...and so they gave life to the Hypogean Gardens of Favignana
The disused quarries in the hinterland of Favignana were used by the islanders in an original and intelligent way: they were transformed into vegetable gardens and gardens. In fact, during your stay on the island, between Cala Rossa, Bue Marino, Punta Fanfalo and Lido Burrone, you will notice the tuff quarries at the edges of the roads in which lush plants grow.
Thanks to the mild climate in winter and hot in summer, thanks to the protection with very high walls, thanks to the sunny position, the islanders managed to make the most of a habitat suitable for vegetative development, thus recreating a "natural greenhouse", which allowed to have a warm climate in winter and cool in summer.
Inside the Hypogean gardens, you can admire many vegetables but above all splendid fruit trees such as fig, almond, pear, orange and prickly pear.
