History News

Notes by ANTASICILIA-ONLUS.

The Province of Trapani

The territory is full of wonderful cultural realties based on its very ancient history. It was already colonized about 2000 years B.C. and here Sicani, Greek, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish and Bourbons lived until the unity of Italy.Marsala and Calatafimi, which were involved in the invasion Garibaldi's famous "hundred," have directly represented an important part of our recent history.

All the invading peoples have left manifold signs of their cultures.

Natural, architectural and archaeological resources sets the province of Trapani at the fourth place in Sicily, for the consistence of the urban centres and for the material in exhibition in the public and private museums full of unique or rare finds, like the Punic boat shown in the Anselmi Bay of Marsala.

Archaeological and the artistic monuments, from the more ancient to the contemporary works of art from Gibellina, have left particularly some prehistoric graffiti in the Genovese cave on the island of Levanzo or the "sesi of Pantelleria and the archaeological park of Selinunte, Segesta and Mozia or Arab-Norman works, the Medieval castles, sculptures of Gagini, Marsala or Salemi and the plasters of Serpotta at Alcamo.

The natural resources, the public and private collections, coastal and internal mountains, caves, lakes, rivers, coasts and islands, surveyed by the same font have had equal importance.

The first (1981), natural reserves of the "zingaro" in Sicily, the natural reserves of Mount Cofano (Erice), the saltworks of Trapani and Paceco, the woods of Alcamo, the islands of St. Ninfa, the mouth of the Belice River (Castelvetrano), the island of Pantelleria, the natural integral reserve of Preola lake and Gorghi Tondi (Mazara del Vallo) and the natural marine reserve of the Egadi archipelago, the island of Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo, all have a characteristic fauna and a flora of remarkable interest.

The Etnean-anthropological patrimony is very rich. The bond between history and culture is very strong in the territory.
One must take into consideration this realty when you see the organization of "tonnare", the songs of ancient tradition, the variety of the gastronomy, with harmonious employment of Mediterranean aromas to the ancient recipes brought by the invaders. The religious traditions are an example with the ceremonies of Spanish imposition of the holy week at Trapani or the procession of the "Veroniche" at Marsala.

In this territory it is possible to demonstrate how man has maintained a balanced report with nature. A demonstration of this is the agricultural traditions and the architecture of the "Dammusi" of Pantelleria or the technique of cultivation of salt in the saltworks that testify a wise exploitation of the natural elements.