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More Cool Stuff I Never Knew About Italy!

First it was Trulli. Who knew?
And now: Fishing platforms in Abruzzo!

The Trabocchi Coast

A beautiful coastline dotted with evocative wooden structures perched over the sea makes a lovely outing in Abruzzo. The so-called Costa dei Trabocchi is a 70-kilometer coast from Ortona to San Salvo, with coves and reefs below the hills that end at the Adriatic Sea. The star attraction are the trabocchi, primitive and yet complex working fishing platforms, constructed of wood that sit over the water. The protruding rods and overall form of the historic structures resemble giant wooden crabs, or a noted poet Gabriele D'Annunzio wrote, "colossal spiders". The elevated arms with nets attached to them are raised and lowered using pulleys and ropes, to bring in the catch of the day from the clear water below.

The trabocchi are throw-backs of a long-ago era, in use here since the 15th century, still in operation though in lesser numbers. They are fascinating remnants, and some are open as rustic restaurants. The platforms are on stilts perched over the water, reached by way of a rickety-looking boardwalk suspended from irregular poles and planks. Despite their delicate appearance, the trabocchi have been standing for years, a by-gone way of fishing that is kept alive here on the Abruzzo coast. The best part? You can now dine on a trabocco, a fabulous way to enjoy the water and the region's excellent fresh seafood dishes.

The Costa dei Trabocchi includes the towns of San Vito Chietino, Rocca San Giovanni, Fossacesia and Vasto. Here you'll find the platforms tucked in coves or on points, accompanied by pebble beaches with crystal-clear water.

More info:
https://passionitalytv.com/places-to-visit/trabocchi-coast-of-abruzzo/

Anyone seen these?
Know of other wonders I've yet to see? Do tell!

Posted by
6552 posts

We saw structures quite similar to the trabocchi last summer on our Best of South Italy tour. The group took a boat ride along the coast near Vieste, and our guide pointed out the fishing platforms. Fascinating.

Posted by
16133 posts

We have one in Alameda, in the SF Bay Area. Greatest Italian restaurant in the East Bay, owned by a chef from Abruzzo (formerly the executive chef of Il Fornaio).

Posted by
1593 posts

Because we have seen them along the coast of the Gargano in Puglia (i.e. where Vieste is), we wanted to see some that are in the Marina di Pisa when we were staying in Pisa for a week last year. But we never made it out there. We also saw some that were more simple and more ramshackle when we went from the Lido in Venice to Chioggia. My husband swears there was another place in Italy, too. We love seeing these fishing shacks, I guess partly because our cabin on the banks of the Mississippi is raised up on railroad rails and resembles them.

Oh, so many wonders! A parking lot in Tuscania, Tuscany whose walls were topped by a dozen or so Etruscan tomb monuments of reclining stone people. Lots of Romanesque church exterior sculptures, including one in Spoleto, San Pietro, that shows a devil and an angel with a set of scales weighing up whether a dying person goes to heaven or hell, and the devil secretly has its claws on the scale trying to cheat the system in favor of hell. The boat race on the Grand Canal in Venice in December in which all the rowers are dressed like Santa Claus (we saw this completely accidentally!) Those are three that come to mind.

Posted by
732 posts

We got to eat at one last year when in Abruzzo. Fabulous meal-way too much food (for not much money)-thoroughly enjoyed the experience. If you have a chance to do so, go. Reservations a must and don’t eat before you get there.

Posted by
267 posts

So, with them also in Marina di Pisa, that puts them on both seas, the Med and the Adriatic. Interesting. Reminds me of the trulli homes - we knew they were in Alberobello, figured only there. Boy were we wrong! We visited Puglia and stayed at the very tip of the heel. The house we were in had one nestled into the hillside behind - complete with water view and old electric wires. Also, when going to the grocery via google maps, we saw them dotted across the countryside along the way.

Just another reason to go back!

For SJS: maybe it was this restaurant..
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel/2022/08/walking-on-water-the-story-behind-italys-traditional-trabocchi-restaurants