Pescara Italy Sights
10/19/2022 - Trabocchi
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Large, odd creatures jut out into the sea along the Abruzzo Coast of the Adriatic. They are bizarre wooden insects, with long, swaying antennae reaching for the water.
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If you are there at the right time of the day, you might see men maneuvering them: the ‘traboccanti’ of Abruzzo and Apulia, the keepers of an ancient fishing technique.
​Built with large pine logs and other materials that can resist the north-western wind that Italians call ‘Maestrale’ – they have been anchored to the coast, whether rocky or sandy, for centuries. They are slender structures made of boards and beams, sitting on rudimentary pillars that dig into the bottom of the sea or into the rock, and connect to the shore with spindly peers.
From the platforms, fishermen use long arms called ‘antenne’ and winches to lower large, fine-knit fishnets into the water, following an “on sight” fishing technique that allows them to intercept the flows of fish moving around these waters of the Adriatic.
Small, fragile fortresses that watch over the sea, trabocchi constantly change: unable to resist the elements for long, they are incessantly subject to restoration and structural alterations. They have transformed, once might say, every time the wind blew and time passed.
Here in Pescara we saw trabucco along a pier in the harbor.
Pescara's Other Bridge
Goodbye Pescara and Our Trusty Transportation
