Trabucco di Termoli

The trabucchi are the symbols that characterize the city of Termoli. To observe them in all their beauty, it is possible to walk on the Passeggiata dei Trabucchi, a walkway that from the foot of Svevo Castle goes along the wall of the old village until to arrive to the Port.
Trabucchi, called in dialect trabucche, are ancient and fascinating fishing machines dating back to the 19th century. It was 1850, when Felice Marinucci, a Termoli fisherman, saw for the first time a trabucco while with his sailboat was directed to Ancona. According to the story, during the journey he was attracted by this strange instrument, formed by a dense fence situated on the cliffs, that supported a solid platform made of wooden boards. The construction was completed by a capstan, a small cabin and two massive wooden boards extend over the water for many meters. A rectangular net was attached to them, which, regular intervals, was immersed in water and immediately retracted. Felice Marinucci was immediately fascinated and, after receiving sufficient information on its effectiveness, returning from that trip he decided to build one of them in Termoli, exactly in Marina di San Pietro, resisted until today. Thus, the first Trabucco of Termoli was born and in 1950, a century later, about a dozen were born. In Termoli the trabucchi are located near the old village and they were particularly important to catch fish even in case of bad climatic conditions. The choice of the place sites depended on the passage of the fish and they were placed along the direction of the fishes that go from the cave to the open sea, looking to the sea. In recent years, several times trabucchi have been restructured due to bad weather. Today, the property is private and it is possible to visit them just on request.