In recent times, parties, DJ sets and events organized in private homes or in spaces attributable to cultural associations have been multiplying in Pantelleria. It is not our intention to criminalize anyone, nor to oppose young people, residents, tour operators and visitors.
The point is another: the rules must apply to everyone and civil coexistence must remain a non-negotiable principle.
Having fun is legitimate. Organizing a party is just as legitimate. But when an event produces loud music for hours, when it takes place in inhabited areas, when it becomes recurring or is publicly promoted on social media, it is reasonable to wonder where the private party ends and where a real organized entertainment activity begins.
It is an important distinction also because the municipal ordinance governing noise emissions and musical entertainment also concerns, for the applicable parts, parties and events organized in private homes.
So it’s not about preventing music. It’s simply about respecting schedules, limits and people.
And perhaps we must also have the courage to say something very simple: loud music at six in the morning, especially in or in the immediate vicinity of a town, can hardly be considered compatible with normal civil coexistence.
It is not a question of being against young people. On the contrary, it would be wrong to turn this discussion into yet another generational conflict.
The real issue is bigger.
What kind of tourism do we want for Pantelleria?
In recent years, Pantelleria has become an increasingly well-known and desired destination. It is certainly a great opportunity, but it also involves a responsibility: to decide which tourist development we want to promote.
We do not believe that Pantelleria should give up growing. On the contrary, the island can and must increase its ability to attract visitors, especially by lengthening the season and making it less dependent on a few summer weeks.
But growing does not simply mean increasing the number of arrivals.
The real challenge is to attract quality tourism: people who choose Pantelleria to get to know it, experience it, respect it and possibly stay longer. A tourism capable of producing value for local businesses, for agriculture, for catering, for craftsmanship and for the whole territory.
“Hit and run” tourism, on the other hand, risks producing a much less balanced relationship between benefits and costs. By concentrating a large number of people in very short periods, the pressure on water, energy, waste, mobility, roads and public services increases, without necessarily generating an equally significant economic impact on the island.
For Pantelleria, therefore, the quality of the presence counts at least as much as the quantity.
Better a longer season, with visitors distributed from spring to autumn and longer stays, than a growth concentrated exclusively in the weeks of maximum crowding.
The island has a heritage that cannot be reproduced elsewhere: the agricultural landscape, the dammusi, the dry stone walls, the sapling vine, the sea, the Park, the districts, the silence, a harsh nature that is still extraordinarily little urbanized.
This is what makes Pantelleria different.
And it is precisely this diversity that we must take care not to consume.
Pantelleria must not become Ibiza, Mykonos or one of the many destinations where nightlife gradually ends up prevailing over the identity of the place. Not because those models are necessarily wrong, but because they do not belong to the history, structure and vocation of this island.
Of course, Pantelleria must be alive. There must be space for music, art, shows, catering, events, young people and socializing. A community that does not offer opportunities to meet risks becoming impoverished.
But there is a huge difference between having a cultural and recreational life and progressively transforming the island into a “party” destination.
The question of parties in private homes then becomes the symptom of something deeper.
If a house is occasionally used for a dinner or a party with friends, we are obviously in the realm of private life.
If, on the other hand, DJ sets are systematically organized in the same place, advertised through social media, with an audience that goes beyond the normal private circle, then it is legitimate to ask that the nature of the activity, compliance with any necessary authorizations, safety regulations and above all those on public peace be verified.
The same applies to cultural associations.
The associative world is an extraordinary wealth for a territory. But precisely for this reason it is necessary to avoid that the definition of “cultural association” can be emptied of its meaning and become simply a container.
It is not up to us to determine who respects the law or not. It is up to the competent bodies to verify this.
But it is perfectly legitimate to ask that the controls be there and that the rules be applied in the same way to everyone.
Silence is also an economic resource
Then there is another aspect that we should not underestimate.
An important part of the people who choose Pantelleria for their holidays do so precisely because they are looking for something that is becoming increasingly rare in large tourist destinations: tranquility, nature, privacy and silence.
They are intangible elements, but they have an enormous economic value.
A tourist who chooses to spend several days in a dammuso, to attend restaurants, buy local products, visit wineries and get to know the territory produces a much deeper and much more useful relationship for the island’s economy than a quick, concentrated and purely consumerist presence.
Losing the silence, tranquility and character of the places therefore means risking losing precisely that group of visitors who can guarantee Pantelleria a more stable, more profitable and less invasive tourism.
Pantelleria can certainly increase its tourist flows. But it should do so by choosing when, how and which tourism to attract.
How long does the tourist season really last?
How long does a visitor stay on the island on average?
How much of your spending remains in the local economy?
What pressure does it produce on water, energy, waste, mobility and the landscape?
What kind of tourism can also be distributed in the months of April, May, June, September, October and even beyond?
These are not questions against tourism.
They are exactly the opposite: they are necessary questions to build a stronger and more sustainable tourism over time.
Pantelleria can choose a path made up of quality, culture, nature, agriculture, food and wine, landscape, sport, well-being and a social life compatible with the territory.
It can aim to increase attendance without uncontrollably increasing the pressure on the island, working on seasonal adjustment, average stay and the quality of the offer.
Or it can simply let the dynamics of the market and social media progressively decide what type of destination it will become.
We believe it is worth choosing.
And that choice also starts from the small things: from respecting schedules, from respecting neighbors, from the ability to have fun without imposing one’s own fun on others.