The Trabucchi of the Gargano Peninsula

At Last, The Trabucchi

The uniqueness of the Gargano Peninsula is truly captured by one specific and unusual feature. This is something you will see nowhere else in Italy. Furthermore it is a feature which is declining - only a few remain. These are the wild and fabulous trabucchi - the essence of the Gargano Peninsula and the Puglia way of life. Puglia still stands alone in Italy. - its lifestyle and its customs a little apart, a little different, uncompromising, unwilling to be fully assimilated.


The trabucchi are fabulous creations; - spindly, wired, their long tentacle arms reaching out into the sea, sometimes with their nets dangling ready to be raised or lowered into the frothing waters below. These trabucchi sit perched on the very edge of the rugged coast, leaning out into the ocean.
They are few and far between. Some are abandoned, some still operate. Their construction is thin and lean - tall poles, boarded walls, a meagre roof, Cables anchor their spindly pole masts back into the cliffs as they lean outwards over the ocean. It is a miracle they survive, for the Adriatic can whip up a mighty storm at times.


The trabucchi are not easily seen as you drive the highway on the cliffs above. Often they are down far below, tucked almost out of sight. But they are worth seeking out. There is at least one trabucco -  near to  Peschici, - which has a restaurant attached. Here the freshest of fish are served and the wine flows freely. This trabucco restaurant is again right on the rocky coastal cliffs - in parts suspended out over the water. On most days the sea spray will drift over you as you dine, and occasionally the waves will crash right over the decks.


This is wonderful architecture - at one with the land and the sea, made from weathered timbers and from the discarded poles of prior trabucchi, divided into booths and areas by suspended fishing nets, decorated by colourful buoys, There is little cover, - the restaurant is only open during the summer months and even then unseasonable storms can still roll in, temporarily closing the restaurant. But this is the time to come, when the sun shines warm and the sea seethes and boils but remains at bay.

Apparently the Phoenicians brought the trabucchi style of fishing to Italy, having seen this in China where similar still remain. In Vietnam, in India and no doubt elsewhere, you will see these fishing net contraptions over rivers and sea. Today the few that still stand in Puglia are protected, so will remain, However there will still always be weather and time to contend with.

Also Pip McCurdy's New Zealand posts:

On Blogspot, Pip McCurdy on the Road

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