Trabucco

The trabucco (Italian: [traˈbukko]), known in some southern dialects as trabocco or travocc,[1] is an ancient fishing machine typical of the Adriatic shores of Abruzzo — famously dubbed the Costa dei Trabocchi ( Trabocchi Coast ) and the Gargano coast, where they are preserved as historical monuments within the Gargano National Park.

In his work "Il Trionfo della Morte" he portrays a trabucco extending from the tip of a promontory, above a cluster of rocks, likening it to a colossal spider made entirely of planks and beams.

He writes, "From the furthest point of the right promontory, over a group of rocks, a trabucco was extended, a strange fishing machine, all composed of boards and beams, resembling a colossal spider..." Moreover, d'Annunzio vividly captures the trabucco’s skeletal form, resembling "the colossal skeleton of a prehistoric amphibian", bleaching white against the landscape.

He describes the trabucco as a "great white skeletal structure protesting against the cliff...an erect and treacherous form in perpetual ambush, often contrasting the solitude's benignity."

At hot mid-days and sunsets, it sometimes assumed formidable aspects, "…even in the most distant rocks were poles fixed to support the reinforcement ropes; countless small boards were nailed up the trunks to strengthen weak spots.

A trabucco is a massive construction built from wood consisting of a platform anchored to the rock by large logs of Aleppo pine, jutting out into the sea.

Trabucchi are located where the sea is deep enough (at least 6 meters), and are built on rocky peaks generally oriented southeast or north in order to exploit the favorable marine current.