Museo della tonnara e del mare

About the museum

The museum is dedicated to the tonnara (tuna trap) of Milazzo, whose earliest written traces date back to the Middle Ages and which reached its greatest development between the 17th and 19th centuries. Today the tonnara no longer exists, and the museum preserves its memory through photographs, tools, models and oral testimonies.

The museum is housed in the former Monastero delle Benedettine (Benedictine convent), within the Castle complex, near the Spanish bastions. The route presents fishing equipment such as nets, floats, knives for the mattanza (the tuna kill) and ropes; the life of the tonnaroti (tuna fishermen), with clothing, photographs, letters and notebooks; historical documents such as maps, notarial deeds and concessions; and finally objects linked to ritual and devotion, such as ex-votos and wooden crosses.

Among the most notable pieces are a scale model of a fixed tonnara, a curved knife for the mattanza and an 18th-century Bourbon concession.

Highlights

• Scale model of a fixed tonnara
• Curved knife for the mattanza of tuna
• Bourbon concession from the 18th century
• Photographs, letters and clothing of the tonnaroti
• Ex-votos and devotional objects linked to fishing

Permanent exhibition

• La tonnara di Milazzo – Fishing tools, models, documents and photographs on the history of the tonnara and the life of the tonnaroti.

Visitors per year

approx. 3,000

Admission & discounts

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Accessibility

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Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

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Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

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