Trabucchi in Gargano

The history of Gargano’s Trabucchi

Numerous ancient scripts tell the story of the Gargano: a land threatened by all kinds of populations, Turks and Saracens in particular.

Piracy terrorized all the territories of the Gargano, plundering lands and seas.

Our seas were not safe, therefore, but the inhabitants of the Gargano knew that the sea was very fishy.

To overcome this problem, very ingenious men created brilliant tools: the Trabucchi.

A complex fishing machine well anchored to the ground and capable of projecting up to 30 meters from the coast large nets that could catch, in a single time, tons and tons of fish: this was the superb idea developed by the engineers of the Gargano military shipyards.

An engineering masterpiece, don’t you think?

Gargano’s Trabucchi: surprising tourist destination

Until the mid-fifties of the twentieth century, the fish resources of our seas were abundant and the Trabucchi were lucrative companies, able to feed more families.

In the middle of the twentieth century, however, the new industrial fishing by modern fishing vessels has greatly depleted the Adriatic: the Trabucchi, unable to do the most profitable deep sea fishing, stopped being productive and were abandoned.

Only some (anciently were 36) have survived: actually, those structures are an important tourist destination.

A few of those structures host some of the most evocative venues on the sea, among which stands out the stunning “Il Trabucco da Mimì”.

The following photo was taken right there! Isn’t it marvelous?

Tips:

Gargano’s Trabucchi are protected by the Gargano National Park and by some associations that have adopted them to safeguard this aspect of the Gargano tradition.

An important association is The Onlus Association to protect the Trabucco Storico Garganico: born on 21st November 2012 at Vieste, this association was born by some ancient Trabuccolanti (the last Trabucco’s master builders) and continue to exist to preserve such an important historical and cultural heritage.

If you want to have a unique fishing experience (but not only) you can contact them: click to discover all the experiences you can have!