EGADI ISLANDS

Italian Isole Egadi, also called Aegadian Islands, Latin Aegates Insulae, small mountainous group of islets belonging to Italy, in the Mediterranean just off the western coast of Sicily, with a total area of 15 square miles (39 square km). The principal islands are Favignana, the largest (7 square miles), Levanzo, and Marettimo. In the Battle of the Aegates in 241 BC, the Carthaginian fleet was defeated there by the Roman fleet under Gaius Lutatius Catulus, signaling the end of the First Punic War. Excavations in the Egadi have revealed traces (rare in Sicily) of Paleolithic habitation, most notably the cave paintings in the Genovese Grotto on Levanzo. The islands have important tuna fisheries and administratively comprise Favignana commune of Trapani province, Sicily. Pop. (1991 prelim.) mun., 4,335.