History and etymology of Ustica

Ustica was known, albeit imperfectly, in the ancient world. The  ancient sources about Ustica are Ptolemy (100-175 AD), Diodorus (who lived in the 1st century BC), Pomponius Mela (who wrote around AD 43) and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD). Pomponius Mela wrote : “[...] Africam versus Caulos, et Melita, Cossura, propius Jtaliam Galata, et illae septem quas Aeoli adpellant Osteodes, Lipara, Heraclea, Didyma, Phoenicusa, ac sicut Aetna perpetuo fragrante igne Hiera et Strongyle [...] (See Pomponii Melae, “De Chorographia”, Libri Tres, Berolini, 1867: 60); or “Toward Africa , Gaulos [in Greek “Gàulos”, now Gozo], Melita [Malta], and Cossura [ in Greek “Kòsyra”, now Pantelleria]; nearer Italy, Galata [Greek “Kalàthe”] and those seven they call the isles of Aeolus [the Lipari islands], Osteodes [Ustica], Lipara [Lipari], Heraclea [Alidudi], Dydima [Salina], Phoenicusa [Filicudi], and the two like Aetna, Hiera [Vulcano] and Strongyle [Stromboli], which burns with uninterrupted flame”.

Pliny, on the contrary, believed that “Osteodes” and “Ustica” were two different islands. In fact, he wrote: […] Insulae sunt in Africam versae Gaulos, Melita a Camerina LXXXVII, , a Lilybaeo CXIII Cosyra, Hieronnesos, Caene, Galata, Lopadusa, quam alii Aegusam scripserunt: Bucinnam: et a Solunte LXXV ‘Osteodes’: contraque Paropinos ‘Ustica’ [...]"; or, “The islands  toward  Africa are  Malta, 87 miles from Camerina, from Lilibeo one hundred thirteen. Cosira, Hieronneso, Cene, Galata, Lopadusa, which some wrote Egusa; Bucinna  and ‘Osteodes’  seventy five miles from Solonte and ‘Ustica’ in front of Paropini [Termini Imerese]”  (See C. Plinius Secundus, “Naturalis Historia”, edidit L. Ian , Teubner, Stuttgart und Leipzig, 1996: 268).

The etymological  problem about Ustica is both simple and difficult. It's simple, if we refer to the etymology of the Latin  term  of the isle, which the Romans called "Ustica", from "Ustum" ("burned"), because of its volcanic nature; it is otherwise difficult to determine whether instead we refer to the Greek word, “Osteodes” (“ossuary”), with reference to the legend handed down by Diodorus (V. 11), who also is the only ancient source, perhaps based on  Timaeus (350-260BC), according to whom the word “ossuary” is related to the fact that the Carthaginians left here to starve a lot of mercenaries who had rebelled against Carthage. The “bones”, according to Diodorus, were those of about six thousand mercenaries left to starve on the island. We note that this etymology, and the story of mercenaries, it is quite uncritically repeated in most of the studies concerning the ancient history of Ustica. However, things are a bit more complicated. Garret G. Fagan and Matthew Trundle, talking about the problem of the traditional "cruelty" against the enemies of the Carthaginians, not have faith in this Greek etymology, and consider it a “dubious etymology”: "[...] the dubious aetiology of the ‘bony’ island (‘Osteodes’) [...]" (See Garret G. Fagan, Matthew Trundle, "New Perspectives on Ancient Warfare," Brill, 2010: 284).

Even more specific  was the essay by G. Amiotti, who through  an extremely tight analysis of the sources, denies  that the Greek etymology "Osteodes" ("ossuary") has any foundation, and she thinks of a Phoenician etymology, because, according to K. Ziegler (RE, 18, 1942, "Osteodes" columns from 1646 to 1647), “Osteodes” is  "not a Greek name". : [...] Whatever the precise time  of the mercenaries revolt,  it is improbable that the island received its name "after" the incident  narrated by Diodorus, V, 11. "Ustica" has certainly a popular etymology: the name is not Greek, but it could be a Phoenician Hellenized name. In fact, the island belonged to the Carthaginian sphere of influence and it was not included in the shipping lanes of the Greeks. It’s significant, moreover, that Diodorus does not mention Ustica for   geographical reasons, but in relation to an episode of the war of the Carthaginians against the Syracusans, probably taking this information by Timaeus [...]" (See Gabriella Amiotti, “Ustica, L'isola solitaria” [“Ustica, the solitary island”], in G. Vanotti-C. Perassi, “In Limine. Ricerche su marginalità e periferie nel mondo antico” [“In Limine. Research on margins and periphery in the ancient world”], 2004: 307). It must be clear, however, that G. Amiotti so does not deny the fact that the Greek etymology of Ustica is "ossuary", but that it is just referring to the episode of the revolt of the mercenaries against Carthage.

Since the Phoenicians colonized the island long before the Greeks, it is a bit  hard to believe that they had not given a name to the island. S. Vassallo writes "[...] In the Middle Bronze Age, too, the distribution is different with examples from the Aeolian Islands (at Panarea ) ... and in the prehistoric village of Ustica, with five specimens dated to the period between the Middle and Late Bronze Age [...]" (See S. Vassallo, "The Stone Casting Moulds from Colle Madore," in R. Gocha Tsetskhladze, "Ancient West & East, Brill, 2004, Vol. 3: 33-35). Some interpretation of the Phoenician origins of Ustica was attempted in the nineteenth century, but that did not enjoyed too much credit, and the idea was abandoned. However, Peter Calcara wrote: "[...] Seeing this island very low, Bochiard (Samuel Bochart) believed that the etymology of Ustica came from the Phoenician language, and meant 'flattish', 'curved'. Others, more wisely,  derive it from Latin, meaning 'scorched earth' for its  volcanic origin   [...]" (See Pietro Calcara, “Descrizione dell'isola di Ustica” ["Description of the island of Ustica”], Palermo, 1842 , Excerpt from the “Giornale Letterario” ["Literary Journal"], n. 229: 63 footnote 2).

More recently, we note that "according to Samuel Bochart, Ustica is a Phoenician word meaning 'level and low place' : “quae vox depressionem, et incurvationem  sonat, quia insulae pars est plana et depressa est.”; or," [Ustica] is a word that means "low" and "bending" because it is flat for the most part ". Then he points out that Horace [65-27 BC] ("Odes", I, 17) gave a similar description of the island, calling it "Ustica cubantis" (Ustica low ) (See L. Clerici, “Scrittori italiani di viaggio” ["Italian travel writers "], Mondadori , 2008: 76). About Horace, however, we observe that he was not referring to the island of Ustica, but a hill of Sabina, known as "Ustica", very close to his villa. Beyond this, as Pietro Calcara said, there is no doubt about Latin etymology, accepted by all scholars; the question concerns only the Greek name and its etymology. Perhaps the Greeks actually found many human bones on the island, calling it for this reason "ossuary", but it is probably that  the tradition concerning the extermination of the mercenaries  is wrong. Very likely the presence of many bones is best explained by comparison with the fact that in  the island there are ancient Phoenician necropolis. Which is widely known to the contemporary critics. We can conclude that the etymologies of  Ustica is two, and both exact,; that  Greek that refers to the presence of many bones (but not for the reasons given by Diodorus) and the other Latin, which seems to refer to volcanic island and its aridity.

However, this  “double etymology” is not at all convincing. The Latins were strongly "Graecizing" and usually Latinized Greek terms. We can even say that " graecize" for the Roman educated class was a real "mania"  often criticized by members of the pure Latin tradition. Therefore, we do not understand why, precisely in relation to "Ustica", this did not happen. In short, in the case of Ustica there would be an incomprehensible "discontinuity" between the Greek and the Latin term. M.  Congedo emphasized that "the Greek form ‘Osteodes’, and the more simple "Ostodis" (with the loss of "e") did not survive, driven by the Latin form 'Ustica' "(See M.  Congedo, “La viabilità della Sicilia in età romana” ["The Roads of Sicily in Roman times "], 2004:  54). However, as we said, it is not convincing.  Meanwhile, we observe that the "vulgar"  form  “Ostodis” is very close to the Latin term " Ustica ", and it probably should be interpreted in a different way than the tradition. The Latin verb "uro", "urere" was also used in the sense of "burn" (the dead), and therefore, even in a metaphorical sense, it recalls the Greek concept of "bones" (of the dead); if the verb "burn" refers to the cremation and not to the volcanic nature of Ustica, the two etymologies are much closer and corresponding than what we normally believe, and in this way, at a conceptual level, it is apparently bridged the gap between "Osteodes" and "Ustum”. In fact, the Latin language, for "burn the dead," uses the word "cremare" [English “cremate”] but also "urere"; "cremate a dead body," according to Cicero, was in fact "mortuum urere hominem." In conclusion with "Ustum" the Latins meant metaphorically the "dead", and "Osteodes" refers conceptually to the "dead".

It would also be very interesting to know the ancient Phoenician name of the island, to see if the Greek name "Osteodes" corresponded in some way to the Phoenician term. Unfortunately we do not have specific studies about the topic. The only thing  we can say is that some attempt at interpretation was made (but with poor results) in relation to the town of "Utica", a name that is like  “Ustica”.  M'Hamed Hassine Fantar noted however, that the Phoenicians names beginning with "U", perhaps refer to the concept of "son of", but without the necessary details, so that the Phoenician name of  “Utica”-“Ustica” remains a mystery: [...] The name 'Utica' continues to interrogate the experts and  to excite controversies (...) [however] the initial 'U' of Utica is in many place names of Libyan origin, such as 'Usalis', 'Uthina', 'Uchi', 'Uchres', 'Usappa'. The Utica place-name  (...) should be attributed to this series of names beginning with the letter 'U', which in Libya could mean ‘son of’ […]” [ See ...]( M'Hamed Hassine Fanta, “I Fenici”, in “Storia del Mediterraneo nell'Antichità” ["The Phoenicians", in "History of the Mediterranean in Antiquity”], edited by M. Guidetti, Milan, Jaka Book: 40).

And  now let’s move on to historical facts about Ustica. We can say that its entire history is related to the low proportion of the population. According to studies, the island had a population of some significance in the late-Roman and Byzantine times, but in later centuries and in the Middle Ages it was virtually depopulated. In fact, according to Fernando Maurici, the transition from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages, and the advent of the Arab piracy in the Mediterranean  began in crisis for many centuries the presence of inhabitants on the island. They were always victims of the piracy, with the risk of ending up in slavery or be killed, so the island  was gradually almost entirely depopulated. Ferdinando Maurici (“Per la storia delle isole minori della Sicilia” in “ Acta historica et archaeologica medievalia”, 2001: 193, 202 )  said that "the almost total abandonment and sporadic attendance by sailors and pirates characterize the medieval history of Ustica, such as Lampedusa and Linosa, small islands, completely let down and poor in resources."

In the thirteenth century is attested in Ustica the monastery of  “Santa Maria de Ustica” , but it declined quickly and disappeared within the first half of the fourteenth century. Therefore Ustica was visited only occasionally, essentially becoming a dangerous hiding place for pirates and corsairs. Ustica had a stable population only in  1762. In fact, in this period, there was an attempt to improve the safety conditions of the inhabitants. In 1761 it was re-populated, precisely to avoid that it was only a haven for pirates, by transferring to it some of the inhabitants of Lipari; but after an initial defeat in 1762, the  pirates took up the island, catching many residents, whose some managed to evade capture by hiding in the caves of the island (See S. Bono, “Lumi e Corsari. L'Europa e il Mahgreb nel XVIII secolo” ["Enlightenment and Corsairs.The  Europe and  Maghreb in the eighteenth century"], Perugia, Morlacchi, 2005: 27). In 1763 Ustica a contingent of soldiers and workers  was sent from Palermo to Ustica, who began the construction of fortifications on the hill of  the “Falconiera”, and two towers on opposite sides of the coast, that is above the  creek of St. Maria and on that of  “Punta Spalmatore.” In the same year  85 families of farmers and fishermen reached from the Aeolian Islands, as well as a few artisans from Palermo and Trapani, for a total of 400 people. During the same period the structure of the country was defined,  with a central church, in 1765, dedicated to St. Ferdinand.