Joseph Whitaker, also known as Giuseppe or familiarly Pip, was born in Palermo in 1850 and descended from a noble family of English merchants. They made a fortune in Sicily thanks to the production and export of Marsala wine.
The story of his family
Benjamin Ingham, who arrived in Sicily in 1809 with his fleet of sailing ships, had established a rich import and export trade of wine and wool with England. But having no children he had called to help his nephew Joseph Whitaker, father of the archaeologist who descovered Mozia.
Subsequently Ingham, Florio and Woodhouse, major producers and exporters of Marsala wine, founded a steamship company.
Joseph Whitaker was a passionate ornithologist. The passion for hunting made him an ornithologist. In two large illustrated volumes published in London in 1905 he made a detailed description of Birds of Tunisia, which he observed during his various stays in that country.
Villa Malfitano
Whitaker lived with his wife in Palermo, where he built Villa Malfitano, Art Nouveau styled. She was a Sicilian woman, daughter of a general who had arrived in Sicily with Garibaldi. The couple had two daughters, Norina and Delia.
Inside a building in Villa Malfitana’s park, he had put together an ornithological museum rich of about 11,000 specimens, which is now in Belfast.
Villa Malfitano is located in the heart of Palermo.
It is a late nineteenth century building, which now preserves intact its precious furnishings and precious collections.
One of these is Trapanese corals from the 1600s and 1700s. Of particular interest is the collection of 16th century Flemish Tapestries which tells the story of the trip of Aeneas from Troy to the banks of the Tiber.
The beautiful surrounding park is a true botanical garden.
Discovering Mozia
Already in 1600, the Dutch Cluverio had recognized the site of ancient Mozia on the island of San Pantaleo in the Stagnone of Marsala. The famous Enrich Schliemann, the discoverer of Troy and Mycenaeus, had carried out an excavation in the island in 1875. From what he wrote about these excavations in his diary, among others information, vineyards seemed to cover the whole island. It had a population of 9 families, all related to each other.
Whitaker, at the age of twenty-five years, through subsequent purchases became the one owner of the island. In 1905 he began archaeological research on Mozia. The digging campaign lasted until the beginning of World War I.
Then Whitaker illustrated the results of his research in the volume: “Mozia, a Phoenician colony in Sicily”, published in London in 1921. This is still relevant to the knowledge of Phoenician culture. At the same time a small museum was set up in Mozia to collect excavation finds.
Delia Whitaker
Joseph was very attached to his island and transmitted all his love for Mozia to his daughter Delia.
She had traveled extensively in Italy and abroad and encouraged excavations in Mozia by scholars from all over the world. Delia was the last direct heir to G. Whitaker, after the death of her mother and her sister Norina, and continued to live in the Malfitano villa where she died in 1971.
She was well aware of the importance of archaeological researches in Mozia. Also Villa Malfitano, because of its unique architecture and the art collections gathered inside, had a great value. Having no children, Delia Whitaker offered Villa Malfitano to The British Government as gift. She would like it to become the British Consulate headquarters in Palermo. The English government replied that it would have needed too big management costs, so did not accept.
Because of that Delia decided to leave everything to a new Foundation. This was named Joseph Whitaker Foundation and it headquarter was and still is at Villa Malfitano. The purpose of society is to promote culture and art and also to carry on the study and knowledge of Phoenician-Punic civilization.
The Agave cultivation
Joseph Whitaker among the various political and personal interests also sought to introduce the cultivation of the rigid Agave var. Sisalana Enigelm into Mozia island. This plant originated in Mexico requires a warm climate for the best development of its fibers. This plant is very useful for the textile industry.
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