Trabucco
Encyclopedia
The trabucco is an old fishing
Commercial fishing
Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...

 machine typical of the coast of Gargano
Gargano
Gargano is a historical and geographical Italian sub-region situated in Apulia, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of the Gargano Promontory projecting into the Adriatic Sea. The high point is Monte Calvo at . Most of the upland...

, is protected as historical monuments by the homonym National Park
Gargano National Park
The Gargano National Park is a national park in the province of Foggia, southern Italy. Aside from the Mount Gargano promontory from which it takes its name, it includes also the Tremiti Islands archipelago and the Foresta Umbra, a large wood protected area established in 1977....

. Spread along the coast of southern Adriatic especially in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 provinces of Foggia
Foggia
Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...

, Campobasso
Campobasso
-Main sights:The main attraction of Campobasso is the Castello Monforte, built in 1450 by the local ruler Nicola II Monforte, over Lombard or Norman ruins. The castle has Guelph merlons and stands on a commanding point, where traces of ancient settlements have been found...

, and Chieti
Chieti
Chieti is a city and comune in Central Italy, 200 km northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region...

 and also in some parts of the coast of southern Tyrrhenian Sea
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....

.

Construction features

A trabucco is a massive construction built in structural wood, which consists of a platform anchored to the rock by large logs of pine of Aleppo
Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...

, jutting out into the sea, from where two (or more) long arms called antemna stretch out suspended some feet above the water and supporting a huge, narrow-meshed, net (called trabocchetto).

The morphology of the Gargano coast and of Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...

 determined the presence of two different types of trabucco: the Garganic trabucco is usually anchored to a rocky platform, longitudinally extended to the coastline, from which the antenna depart.

The variant of Abruzzo and Molise
Molise
Molise is a region of Southern Italy, the second smallest of the regions. It was formerly part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise and now a separate entity...

, also called bilancia, often insists on shallower coasts and therefore is characterized by the presence of a platform, transversal to the coast, which is connected by a tight bridge made of wooden boards. A bilancia has just one winch, often electrically operating, even when the sea is perfectly calm. Abruzzo bilancia has also a net much smaller than that of Gargano trabucco, another feature that differentiates the two types is the length and number of antennas, more extensive Gargano (also double that of Abruzzo and Molise) in Termoli balances were more than two antennas, Gargano always two or more.

History

According with some historians of Apulia, the trabuccco was invented in the region imported from Phoenicians. The earliest documented existence dates back to 18th century, during which Gargano fishermen, during that period sparsely populated, devised an ingenious technique of fishing which wasn't subject to weather conditions in the area. Trabucchi were built in the most prominent promontories jutting nets out to sea through a system of monumental wooden arms: a trabucco allows to fish without having to be submitted to sea conditions using the morphology of Gargano rocky coast.

The trabucco is built with traditional wood Aleppo pine -the typical pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 of Gargano
Gargano
Gargano is a historical and geographical Italian sub-region situated in Apulia, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of the Gargano Promontory projecting into the Adriatic Sea. The high point is Monte Calvo at . Most of the upland...

 and common throughout the South-Western Adriatic- because this material is virtually limitless (for his dissemination in the area) modeled, elastic, weatherproof and resistant to salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

 (trabucco must resist to strong Mistral usually blowing in these areas). Some trabucchi have been rebuilt in recent years, thanks to public funds. However since they lost their economic function in the past centuries when they were the main economical source of entire families of fishermen, trabucchi rose into the role of cultural and architectural symbols and tourist attraction.

Fishing system

The fishing technique, however efficacious, is "on sight". Consists in intercepting, with wide nets, the flows of fish moving along the ravines of the coast. The trebuchets are located where the sea has asufficient depth (at least 6 meters), and erected on the shelter of rocky peaks generally oriented towards SE or NO in order to exploit the favorable marine current.

The network is lowered into the water through a complex system of winch
Winch
A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the "tension" of a rope or wire rope . In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank. In larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and...

es and, likewise, promptly pulled up to retrieve their catch. At least two men are entrusted with the tough task of operating the winches in charge of maneuvering the giant network. Small trabucchi of Abruzzo and Molise Coast is often electrically powered.

The trabucco is managed at least by four fishermen (who share the duties of watching the fish and maneuvering), called "trabuccolanti".

Distribution

The trebuchets are a distinguishing feature of the coastal landscape of the lower Adriatic. Their presence is also attested on the lower Tyrrhenian Sea
Tyrrhenian Sea
The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy.-Geography:The sea is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia , Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata and Calabria and Sicily ....

.

Disseminated throughout the Gargano coast
Gargano
Gargano is a historical and geographical Italian sub-region situated in Apulia, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of the Gargano Promontory projecting into the Adriatic Sea. The high point is Monte Calvo at . Most of the upland...

, more widely present in the area between Peschici
Peschici
Peschici is a town and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.Famous seaside resorts, its territory belongs to the Italian National Park of Gargano and to the Comunità Montana del Gargano.- Geography :...

 and Vieste
Vieste
Vieste is a town and comune in the province of Foggia, in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.thumb|Cathedral of ViesteA marine resort in Gargano, Vieste has received Blue Flags for the purity of its waters from the Foundation for Environmental Education...

 (where there isn't any promontory whitout one of these giant structures), the ancient trabucchi are protected by the National Park of Gargano
Gargano
Gargano is a historical and geographical Italian sub-region situated in Apulia, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of the Gargano Promontory projecting into the Adriatic Sea. The high point is Monte Calvo at . Most of the upland...

, which adopted them as a sign of respect for tradition and environment of the Gargano, as a symbol of civilization, are now following the favorite subject of artists and craftsmen.
Trabucchi are also farther north, where are those called travocchi (in dialect of Molise and Abruzzo) in the province of Campobasso
Province of Campobasso
The Province of Campobasso is a province in the Molise region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Campobasso.It has an area of 2,909 km², and a total population of 230,692...

, Termoli
Termoli
Termoli is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly after World War II, and it is a local resort town known for its beaches and old fortifications...

, Chieti
Province of Chieti
The Province of Chieti is a province in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Chieti.It has an area of 2,588 km², and a total population of 381,993...

 and south of Ortona
Ortona
Ortona is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants.Ortona was the site of fierce fighting between German and Canadian forces during the Italian campaign in World War II...

 (Costa dei trabocchi).

See also

Trabucco's area of diffusion
  • Gargano
    Gargano
    Gargano is a historical and geographical Italian sub-region situated in Apulia, consisting of a wide isolated mountain massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of the Gargano Promontory projecting into the Adriatic Sea. The high point is Monte Calvo at . Most of the upland...

  • Peschici
    Peschici
    Peschici is a town and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.Famous seaside resorts, its territory belongs to the Italian National Park of Gargano and to the Comunità Montana del Gargano.- Geography :...

  • Rodi Garganico
  • San Menaio
    San Menaio
    San Menaio , also San Menaio Garganico, is a seaside resort and a frazione of the comune of Vico del Gargano in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of south-east Italy...

  • Vico del Gargano
    Vico del Gargano
    Vico del Gargano is a town and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. Called the "Village of Love", is part of the Gargano National Park and the Mountain Community of Gargano.-Geography:...

  • Vieste
    Vieste
    Vieste is a town and comune in the province of Foggia, in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.thumb|Cathedral of ViesteA marine resort in Gargano, Vieste has received Blue Flags for the purity of its waters from the Foundation for Environmental Education...



Area of diffusion of Trabocco or Bilancia variants
  • Ortona
    Ortona
    Ortona is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants.Ortona was the site of fierce fighting between German and Canadian forces during the Italian campaign in World War II...

  • San Vito Chietino
    San Vito Chietino
    San Vito Chietino is a town and comune in the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of central Italy.-Geography:The town is bordered by Frisa, Lanciano, Ortona, Rocca San Giovanni, Treglio and Fossacesia.-Economy:...

  • Termoli
    Termoli
    Termoli is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of Italy, in the province of Campobasso, region of Molise. It has a population of around 32,000, having expanded quickly after World War II, and it is a local resort town known for its beaches and old fortifications...

  • Vasto
    Vasto
    Vasto is a town and comune on the Adriatic coast of the Province of Chieti in southern Abruzzo, Italy. The population is now just over 40,000.-History:According to tradition, the town was founded by Diomedes, the Greek hero...

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