• Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Italian Notes
  • HOME
  • PEOPLE & PLACES
    • Abruzzo
    • Basilicata
    • Calabria
    • Campania
    • Emilia-Romagna
    • Friuli-Venezia Giulia
    • Lazio
    • Liguria
    • Lombardia-Lombardy
    • Marche
    • Molise
    • Piemonte-Piedmont
    • Puglia – Apulia
    • Sicilia
    • Toscana-Tuscany
    • Trentino-Alto Adige – Trentino-South Tyrol
    • Umbria
    • Veneto
  • FOOD
    • Antipasti
    • Primi piatti
    • Secondi piatti
    • Dolci
  • PR/ADVERTISING
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Trabucchi fishing in Termoli

Old fashioned Trabucchi fishing machines surround Termoli’s old town, and although the contraptions have lost their economic importance they are still in use.



Booking.com

For some reason, I have always associated the characteristic Trabucchi – or trabocchi as it is also spelled – with the Gargano peninsula. These fragile wooden constructions that float above the water like a daddy longlegs caught in a web of weights, pulleys, pine sticks, rods and fishing nets, ready to seize any fish swimming past can be seen on the coats between Vieste and Peschici, but the ingenious fishing machines are also used further north. For instance, trabucchi surround Termoli’s old town, and although the contraptions have lost their economic importance they are still in use.

Connoisseurs may even spot a difference between Puglian versions and trabucchi in Abruzzo and Molise. On Gargano, the trabucchi fishing machines are placed on a rock overhanging the sea, fishermen in Abruzzo and Molise go farther out from the shore when they construct their trabucchi platforms, which can be accessed through a long jetty. The sea depth has to exceed 5 metres for the trabucchi to work and it should be placed correctly in relation to currents, seabed conditions, et cetera.

Trabucchi fishing in Termoli

Trabucchi fishing in Termoli

According to some sources the trabucchi originated in Asia Minor and was brought to Italy be the Turks. Other sources claim that the machine was invented by a seasick fisherman who wanted to pursue his profession with firm ground under his feet. And then there are those who maintain that the contruction sprung from the mind of fishermen who wanted to be able to work safely regardless of the weather. In any event, the trabucchis have been known from the mid 18th century, when the first equipment that should making fishing more like farming was introduced.

The machine is operated by a fisherman who sits with lowered nets in the shelter of the house, waiting for a shoal of fish to swim by. When the fish have reached the right position, the net is pulled up with the catch. In Termoli you can sit on a bench and study the trabucchi in operation, which is very entertaining, but personally I have not seen them land a worthwhile catch. The amount and size of the fish seem incredibly small compared to the magnitude of the apparatus.

Nonetheless, trabucchi have had great importance for the residents of Termoli up to World War II, when the fishing machines provided a steady supply of food. The equipment is therefore treated with great reverence and kept in good working condition. And in the meantime it has developed into a significant tourist attraction. Several trabucchi owners are willing to let tourists try their fishing luck from the platforms for a fee, and the gear does make a change from from normal angling and fly fishing.

More on Molise than trabucchi fishing

What to see in Molise

Molise History

Canada in WW2 – The Battle of Ortona

4 replies
  1. AdriBarr
    AdriBarr says:
    November 19, 2011 at 5:36 pm

    What a cool article – I knew nothing about this topic. Thank you for the lesson!

    Reply
  2. nino ventura
    nino ventura says:
    June 13, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    Ti segnalo che la costa dei trabucchi si estende anche piu a nord sulla costa abruzzese che va da Vasto fino a Pescara. In questo tratto di costa, ce ne sono diversi e alcuni di questi molto suggestivi; in altri i proprietari li hanno trasformati in ristoranti molto romantici e caratteristici, dove si possono gustare piatti della tradizione abruzzese marinara. Ti consiglio di visitard qiesta zon (se non la conosci gia). Comunque complimenti per tutte queste informazioni che raccogli e riporti sul tuo sito. Saluti Nino Ventura. Fano Marche.

    Reply
    • admin
      admin says:
      June 14, 2014 at 10:42 am

      Dear Nino. Thank you very much for the comment. And the tip. We haven’t seen trabucchi on our visits to Pescara, Francavilla al Mare and Ortona, but we might drive around and look for them a couple of weeks from now when we will visit Abruzzo. Eating dinner in a trabucco restaurant sounds absolutely adorable.

      Reply
  3. Pete Jones
    Pete Jones says:
    August 12, 2020 at 9:27 am

    Just love your website – evocative, informative, and full of excellent photographs!

    Further to Nino Ventura’s comments, this type of fishing can be found much further north in Italy. On my website, I have pictures of these fishing huts at Cesenatico, near Rimini (posted under ‘Delightful Cesenatico’) and just off Torcello (posted under ‘Reflections of Venice’). Hope this adds to our sum knowledge!

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Maps were disabled by the visitor on this site. Click to open the map in a new window.
Followon TwitterSubscribeto RSS Feed
Discover Rome - Italian Notes

Discover Rome

Discover Florence - Italian Notes

Discover Florence

Discover Venice - Italian Notes

Discover Venice

Discover Puglia - Italian Notes

Discover Puglia

Discover Sicily - Italian Notes

Discover Sicily

Discover Piedmont - Italian Notes

Discover Piedmont

Italian apple cake recipeTraffic fines in Italy
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

Accept settingsHide notification onlySettings

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Accept settingsHide notification only